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WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 



WALES : 

ITS PART IN THE WAR 



EDITED BY 

IVOR NICHOLSON, O.B.E. 

AND 

TREVOR LLOYD-WILLIAMS, M.A, 

Formerly of the Ministry of Information. 



WITH A PREFACE BY 

SIR E. VINCENT EVANS 

High Sheriff of Merionethshire. 



HODEER AND STOUGHTON 
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO 






PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY 

King & Jarrett, Vrr>., 

HOLLAND STREET, LONDON. S.K.I. 



Gift 
Pmbiisber 
JUL 2 ia2§ 



PREFACE 



PREFACE 

BY 

SIR E. VINCENT EVANS, 

HIGH SHERIFF OF MERIONETHSHIRE. 

There must be many Welshmen and others who 
would like to know what Wales did to help in the 
colossal struggle now so triumphantly concluded. 
How our sister-nations in the United Kingdom 
wrought and suffered, their sons have not been 
slow to tell; but Wales, never eager to advertise 
herself, has up to now been silent as to the part 
she played. This book was written to supply the 
lack ; and for the sake of other nations as well as 
Wales ; for the sake of the future no less than the 
present ; it was well our story should be told. The 
volume breathes the spirit of proud but unob- 
trusive patriotism, and is all the better for its pur- 
pose that it states the truth without rhetoric or 
comment. The bones of an epic are here ; it will 
be for the poets of Wales throughout their genera- 
tions to clothe them with fair imagination. 



PREFACE 

Like most peoples, the Welsh have for many 
centuries been often forced to draw the sword ; but 
whenever they have done so it cannot be said of 
them that they disgraced their ancient name. 
Even Rome spoke with respect and bated breath 
of Caradog, Caswallon and Buddug. Driven to 
the mountains by the Saxons in later times, our 
forefathers forced the invader back, with disillu- 
sioned hosts, from many a field, and taught him 
that *' Y Ddraig Goch " was a flag not to be 
despised. When at last the feud was over, and 
Wales with England owned allegiance to the one 
throne, the king found that the descendants of 
Llewelyn and Owen Glyndwr were among the 
doughtiest men in his army. One may be forgiven 
a little national pride when he remembers that the 
Welsh archers were the real victors of Cressy and 
Agincourt. 

** We are a small nation, but we are a great 
people." 

E. Vincent Evans. 



xn. 



FOREWORD 



FOREWORD 

This little book, it is hoped, will be welcome to 
all who are interested in Wales and its splendid 
war record. It does not profess to be exhaustive 
— it never could be — but it contains references to 
the main contributions which Wales made to the 
great victory which has been consummated in 
Paris. Much publicity was given during the war 
to the activities of the three sister kingdoms, of 
the Colonies, and of our Allies. This helped to 
sustain and encourage the allied peoples in the 
hours of difficulty and trial, and it certainlj con- 
tributed to a better understanding on the part of 
the non-belligerent nations of the great issues that 
were at stake. The Editors of this handbook felt 
that some time must elapse before a full account 
of Wales and the war could be published, and that 
there was a possibility, indeed, of it never appear- 

XV, 



FOREWORD 

ing in a form which would make it accessible to 
every home in Wales, and wherever her children 
dwelt. Hence, it was decided to put these pages 
together while the information was available, and 
before the intense personal interest in the subject 
matter had been altogether dispelled by the prob- 
lems and perplexities of the new era. 

IvoE Nicholson. 
Trevor Lloyd-Williams. 



xvi. 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 



CHAPTER I 



The Prince of Wales in the Wae 



The present Prince of Wales, prior to the outbreak 
of war, was attached as an ordinary Company 
Officer to the First Battalion of the Grenadier 
Guards, which was then stationed at Warley 
Barracks in Essex, The Battalion was amongst 
the first to proceed on active service when the 
great little British Army went to France in August', 
1914. The Prince's passionate desire was to go 
across to France in command of his platoon, but 
to his great disappointment he was prevented by 
Lord Kitchener, 



b2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

The story is told that His Royal Highness, in 
high dudgeon, sought out the famous Field Marshal 
and remonstrated and pleaded with him. Lord 
Kitchener listened attentively, and then said very 
emphatically, '* I don't mind you running the risk 
of being killed, but I refuse to allow you to nm 
the risk of being captured," and with that the 
interview closed. Whether the story is true in 
detail does not matter very much, but it is obvious 
that the authorities could not run the risk of 
having our Prince of Wales held as a hostage by 
the enemy. This was a grievous disappointment 
to His Royal Highness, who, throughout the war, 
must have been more than ever conscious of his 
dual personality. On the one hand, as the heir 
to the throne of the British Empire, his personal 
safety was an imperative concern to the authori- 
ties. On the other hand, as an ordinary healthy 
young British citizen, he was desperately anxious 
to do his bit in company with his friends. 

The solution of this difficulty — for it was a very 
real one^ — was found in the hard common-sense of the 
Prince himself, and in the wisdom of his advisers. 
He proceeded in England with his military train- 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

ing, and in November, 1914, he was out in France 
attached to the Headquarters Staff of Sir John 
French, at St. Omer. He went to learn in the 
best possible way, namely, by careful personal in- 
vestigation, the needs of a modern army at war 
overseas. The Prince was also, of course, repre- 
senting His Majesty the King, and on all hands 
there is generous testimony to the value of his 
being in France at the time when the outlook was 
dark, and when the presence and the knowledge 
of the presence of the Prince amongst his fellows 
was a source of encouragement and gratification to 
all ranks in France, and to the new armies grow- 
ing apace in the home country. 

The actual recital of day to day events in the 
life of the Prince at this time will perhaps be 
monotonous reading, but all of us know by now, 
if not by personal experience, at least from the 
lips of our friends and relatives, that the out- 
standing feature of modern war is monotony. 
From a Diary which has been available in the 
compilation of this book, the picture one has of the 
Prince of Wales is of a tremendously live young 
man, quite at home in the danger, zone, and not 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

a little annoyed with the attentions of nervous 
Generals who were, quite rightly, solicitous of his 
welfare, observing and making careful notes of 
everything of military interest, very much in 
earnest, and disarming one and all by his un- 
affected simplicity, sincerity and geniality. 

The Prince arrived at Boulogne on Monday, 
November 16, 1914. On the previous Saturday 
Lord Roberts had died at St. Omer, and the hearts 
of his old friends now out in France were very 
heavy. The Prince attended the late Field Mar- 
shal's fimeral service before the body was con- 
veyed to England. It was deeply impressive — 
the dark blue of the French Dragoons, the lances 
and helmets, the Indian soldiers so painfully 
stricken with grief, all combined to make a picture 
which stamped itself indelibly on the minds of the 
onlookers. 

In this time between November, 1914, and April, 
1915, the Prince led a very full life. While he is 
a keen and capable motorist, he is also a great 
walker, and every morning at G.H.Q. he rose at 
7, and, in spite of execrable weather, walked before 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

breakfast, examining some experimental trenches, 
or inspecting the latest developments in flying 
at the Headquarters of the Flying Corps. Few 
men can know the geography of Flanders and 
France better than the Prince. For in these 
winter months he was up and down the British 
and French and Belgian lines repeatedly. He 
usually studied in the mornings. To begin with 
he used to go over to Generals Macready and 
Robertson, the Adjutant General and the Quarter- 
master General, and have the military maps ex- 
plained to him in detail. Then he would visit 
the Headquarters of each of the Armies; and, 
from the diaries it appears that he was a con- 
stant visitor at the Divisional Headquarters of 
Generals Rawlinson, Smith-Dorrien, Plumer, and 
Wilson. The Prince took his share of ordinary 
military duty at G.H.Q., and on occasions special 
work like the making of detailed and technical 
reports on the second line of trenches — would be 
allocated to him. 

There is an undoubted fascination in getting as 
close to the enemy as possible, provided he does 
not observe you ! The Prince was always anxious 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

to observe the enemy, and see everything at first 
hand. On one occasion, in the first winter of the 
war, the Prince was on his way to Laventie with 
a companion, when they met a General, who 
suggested that it would be unsafe to go there. 
The Prince was bitterly disappointed. As it was, 
they were, without knowing it, within 1500 yards 
of the Germans. 

On several occasions the Prince went to Neuve 
Eglise, from which it was possible to see the 
German lines south of Wytschaete and Messines, 
where heavy shelling was in progress. Here 
he saw a section of field guns in action. His 
Royal Highness was constantly recognised by the 
troops, who were always genuinely pleased to see 
him. He would often spend some time with the 
Guards Brigade. One day in December he 
motored to Vieux Berquin to meet the 4th Guards 
Brigade, and marched with them to Bethune, and 
subsequently to a farm near the line where they 
rested prior to taking over the trenches. Luckily, 
it was a very foggy day. A General came out 
later and reminded them that they were in a most 
dangerous spot. Once again the Prince was very 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

upset at being recommended to move out of dan- 
ger, although he always realised that it was the 
duty of the high Military Authorities to warn him. 

The Prince was always very solicitous for the 
welfare of the wounded and was a constant visitor 
at all the hospitals. He was well known in the 
Canadian Hospital at La Touquet, where he 
always had a boisterous welcome, and also at 
the Duchess of Westminster's splendid hospital^ 
where all the wounded from the terrible La Bassee 
fight were housed. If ever he was in a locality 
where a disaster happened, he was the first to 
visit the wounded. On one December day he 
had motored to Hazebrouck, and, having left 
his car by the church in the north of the 
town, he walked to a farm just outside. While 
there he heard two tremendous explosions. Some 
bombs had been dropped by the enemy in the 
town. One bomb was found within 150 yards of 
the Prince's car, and another had exploded in the 
field on the other side of the car. It was on this 
occasion that the Prince's chauffeur was killed. 
Yet another had gone clean through the roof of a 
house, and had killed nine men and wounded some 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

eight or nine civilians, including a woman and a 
tiny baby. The Prince did not rest until he had 
visited these poor creatures in the local hospital. 

King George paid his first visit to France in 
November, 1914. The Prince of Wales motored 
over to Dieppe to meet him. In touring the front 
with His Majesty, the Prince usually led the pro- 
cession of cars. On this occasion something went 
amiss with His Royal Highness's car, and he had 
to drop out and crawl home at a snail's pace as 
best he could. While on the road he picked up 
a poor fellow in the Army Service Corps, who had 
been left behind by the train at Ebbinghem Rail- 
way Station. He had lost his hat and coat, and 
was very miserable. The Prince stopped his car, 
and giving the Tommy his Burberry to wear, gave 
him a lift home. 

The Prince went with the King to visit the 
King of the Belgians at La Panne, and subse- 
quently was a frequent visitor there. By the end 
of 1914. the Prince had visited the principal 
places on the British front, and had studied 
the enormous activities of the Army behind the 

10 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

lines. The manifold needs of the fighting men of 
the modern army baffle description, and have to 
be seen to be appreciated. The remount depots, 
the veterinary hospitals, the mechanical transport 
workshops where all spare parts of every auto- 
mobile used in war are kept, the bakeries, the 
Indian supply depots, the aircraft workshops, 
the ordnance depots, the hospitals and the 
post offices, etc. — all these huge places situ- 
ated at such towns as Havre, Rouen, Abbeville, 
Boulogne, and Calais, were carefully examined by 
the Prince, who made notes of their activities. 
There was nothing formal or ceremonious about 
these constant visits of His Royal Highness. 

It is obvious that His Royal Highness led a very 
busy life, but occasionally he would take an after- 
noon's recreation. He would join in with his 
Regiment in a football match with great zest, or 
else would motor his companion to a spot near 
St. Quentin to shoot pheasants and rabbits — and 
he is a very good shot. Sometimes, instead of 
walking or motoring, the Prince rode an Arab 
horse given him by the Maharajah of Jodhpur 
while in France. The Prince was a great favourite 

11 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

amongst the Indians. He used to drive over to 
Sir Pertab Singh's house at the Indian Cavalry 
Headquarters, and Sir Pertab was a frequent visi- 
tor at St. Omer. The gallant Sir Pertab gravely 
announced at dinner one evening to the amuse- 
ment of the Prince and the staff that no one ought 
to die in their beds. "It is a bad business," he 
repeated with conviction, " to die in your bed !" 

Early in January, 1915, the Prince started on 
a most interesting tour to the Eastern side of 
France. This was the first occasion for him to 
visit the French troops, and he was everywhere 
most warmly welcomed. The party set out from 
St. Omer, and the Prince drove himself in his own 
car. The first evening saw them at Compiegne, 
having covered some 100 miles. The next day 
they set out early, and by the evening reached 
Chalons, a distance of 168 kilometres. They had 
passed over the scenes of some terrible fighting in 
the previous September. They could hear the 
guns firing on the Aisne line, and they saw some 
of the graves of their old friends and many un- 
named graves with only the khaki cap on the top 
of the rough cross. From Chalons they motored 

12 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

on to Belfort, 309 kilometres, via Vitry la Fran- 
§oise, and saw the trenches of the German Crown 
Prince's army prior to the battle of the Marne. 
At Montreux Vieux, a little further on, he was 
shown a school conducted by a French territorial 
in the Octroi house, which was riddled with 
bullets. The children sang to the Prince of Wales, 
who was very delighted. The next town which 
the Prince reached was Nancy, where Monsieur 
Millerand, the French War Minister at that time, 
received him. Returning to Chalons the next 
day the Prince was shown near Villers aux Vents 
a dug-out used by the German Crown Prince. 
It was carpeted and furnished, and from this 
spot he had witnessed the burning of the village. 
The whole village was destroyed by fire, with the 
exception of one house. 

Continuing their return to British G.H.Q. the 
party visited the Headquarters of the French 
Army, where the Prince was received by Marshal 
Joffre and General Foch. The Prince learnt that 
on the arrival of the Germans at Compiegne they 
put the chateau practically in a state of defence 
for the use of the Kaiser, who was eventually 

18 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

coming there had the German plans succeeded. 
Later on the Prince visited Bethisy, St. Pierre, 
south-east of Compiegne, and made his first 
public sj)eech in French at the presentation of 
medals of St. John of Jerusalem to four inhabi- 
tants, two of whom were women, for succouring 
some English troops who were wounded by the 
Germans during their retreat. The Mayor of the 
little town received the Prince, and the inhabitants 
gave him a splendid welcome. 

Until February, 1916, the Prince of Wales was 
with the Guards' Division. He then went to 
Egypt, joining the expeditionary force operating 
along the Suez Canal. He also visited the troops 
at Khartoum. After his return to France, the 
Prince was attached to the 14th Corps, which was 
at that time holding the northern sector of the 
British line. During August, 1916, His Royal 
Highness moved with the 14th Corps to the battle 
of the Somme, where he was often to be seen m 
the neighbourhood of the Delville Wood, the Flers 
line, Morval, etc., places which men who took 
part in the Somme battle will remember so vividly 
and painfully. 

14 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

His Royal Highness had been attached before 
the war to the cavalry, but at the beginning of 
the war to the infantry, so it was deemed 
advisable that he should have knowledge of^ 
and experience of the other arm — the artillery. 
Hence, when the Somme offensive was over, the 
Prince attended an artillery course at the Third 
Army Artillery School. 

During the summer and autumn of 1917, the 
Prince, as a general Staff Officer, took part in the 
offensive of Flanders, where again many recog- 
nised the familiar figure of their future King 
along the Canal bank, on the Pilken ridge, in 
Langemarck, and other equally unhealthy places. 
In November the 14th Corps was suddenly ordered 
to Italy, where the Prince also accompanied it, to 
the great pleasure of the Italian nation. In May, 
1918, His Royal Highness went to Rome to attend 
the meeting at the Augusteum, which was held to 
celebrate the entry of Italy into the war. He had 
a most enthusiastic reception in Rome, and won 
the hearts of all he met by his frank and straight- 
forward manner. 



15 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

His Royal Highness arrived on the 23rd May, 
and all Rome turned out to meet him at the 
station and cried with enthusiasm, " Long live 
England and long live the Prince of Wales." 
There was a deep significance to the Italians in 
his visit, and one paper recalled Mr. Lloyd 
George's words : " For Italy we are ready to give 
everything that may be necessary. You have a 
pledge already in the heir to the throne." 

The Giornale d^ Italia paid a warm tribute to the 
** charming spontaneity and chivalrous impulse" 
of the young British Prince, who came in the 
darkest hour of Italy's peril, after the disaster of 
Caporetto, before the French and British banners 
had time to cross the Alps, taking his place by the 
side of the Italian troops, and introducing himself 
by saying simply, " I am the Prince of Wales, 
and I have come to place myself at the disposal 
of Italy." " How well we all remember this," ex- 
claimed the journal. '* Now Prince Edward comes 
as a guest to celebrate the third anniversary of 
Italy's entry into the war. The welcome of Rome 
will not only be marked by devoted homage, but 
also by grateful affection for the Prince, who 

16 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

showed that he never for one moment doubted the 
stability of the Italian nation , and who, in those 
moments of sadness and trepidation, proved his 
sincere friendship." 



The Prince of Wales undoubtedly took Rome by 
storm. The ceremony at the Augusteum on the 
25th May was a most striking popular manifesta^ 
tion. The Prince read his speech in English and 
one of the Italian papers commented on " some- 
thing that is rare in the case of Royal personages 
owing to etiquette." The speaker was continually 
interi'upted by shouts of applause like an eloquent 
orator who speaks at a public meeting ! 

While His Royal Highness was necessarily absent 
from this country on military duty, every oppor- 
tunity was taken by him to visit the scenes in Great 
Britain where the war was being waged with equal 
skill and endurance by the great host of civilian 
workers. In February, 1918, the Prince paid a 
visit to Wales, and though he lived most laborious 
days, there is no doubt that he entered into his 
experiences there with great enthusiasm. He saw 

17 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

the Port Talbot steel works and workers, witnessed 
some of the processes of steel manipulation in full 
operation, and noted how the main activities of 
the works were devoted to supplying the needs of 
the Army and Navy. From Cardiff he went to 
Ebbw Vale, and was acclaimed on all sides by the 
workers and their wives and children, who turned 
out from the countryside. The Prince believes in 
seeing everything first hand, and if he found him- 
self in a colliery district he would not rest until he 
had descended a coal mine. It was on this occasion 
at Ebbw Vale that he plunged down some 600 feet 
into the earth. Down in the bowels of the earth 
the head miner of one of the sections was presented 
to the Prince, and informed him that he had been 
thirty-three years working underground. Grip- 
ping the Prince's hand, and speaking with deep 
fervour, the fine old miner said '' We welcome 
your Royal Highness, we are honoured to have 
you among us, and we, one and all of us, wish you 
happiness, prosperity and success. May God bless 
and keep you." The Prince was much impressed 
with the spontaneous blessing delivered, as some- 
one said, in almost patriarchal fashion by the 
earnest old miner. 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

When the Prince left Wales, His Royal Highness 
said to the authorities that the visit to South Wales 
had been one of the greatest interest to him, that 
he had enjoyed it thoroughly, and deeply appre- 
(Ciated the splendid reception that had been 
accorded to him. 

It was a bold idea of the authorities to suggest 
that the Prince should visit the Clyde, but he was 
accorded a stirring welcome wherever he went. 
When he was at Greenock he tried his hand at 
riveting. Mounting a platform erected near a 
standard ship on the stocks, the Prince was handed 
a pneumatic riveting hammer with which he drove 
a white hot rivet into a plate in the ship's bows. 
Subsequently he tried his hand at a hydraulic rivets 
ing machine, and drove several rivets into a ship's 
steel plate so well that someone said he deserved 
the highest rate of Is. a rivet ! The Royal Party 
stayed at a hotel in Glasgow, and the Prince had, 
of course, private apartments allotted to him. It 
is typical of him that he far preferred to dine in 
the public restaurant than in his private room, and 
after dinner he told his friends that he would far 
rather take a walk round the city than go to his 

19 

C2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

own quarters. However, the experiment did not 
prove a success, for he was instantly recognised, 
and the good-natured citizens of Glasgow com- 
pelled him to beat a hasty retreat. 

On February 19th, 1918, His Royal Highness 
took his seat in the House of Lords. The ceremony, 
the first of its kind since the introduction of his 
grandfather as Prince of Wales on February 5th, 
1863, was solemn and picturesque. The House was 
full and looking down on her son from the side gal- 
leries was Her Majesty the Queen. Slowly the 
procession moved to the Woolsack, where the 
Letters Patent creating His Royal Highness Prince 
of Wales and the Writ of Summons calling him to 
attend in Parliament were handed to the Lord 
Chancellor, and by him to the Clerk of the Parlia- 
ment. The Letters Patent bade the Peers know that 
His Majesty had made and created **our most dear 
son " to be Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, 
to have the name, style, title, dignity, and honour 
of the Principality and Earldom. They recited 
that he had been ennobled and invested " by gird- 
ing him with the sword, by putting the coronet on 
his head, and a gold ring on his finger, and also by 

20 



THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE WAR 

delivering a gold rod into his hand." The Writ of 
Summons, which opened with the words, "To our 
most dearly beloved son, Greeting," commanded 
the Prince, by the allegiance by which you are 
boimd to us, waiving all excuses, "to be present 
at ParHament with us and with the prelates, 
nobles, and peers of our Kingdom, to treat and 
give your counsels " on the urgent affairs for which 
Parliament had met. The reading ended, the Prince 
took the oath of allegiance and signed the declara- 
tion. The procession was re-formed, and again moved 
towards the Woolsack, the Lord Chancellor lifting 
his three-cornered beaver hat to the Prince as he 
passed. His Royal Highness was conducted to the 
chair on the right hand of the Throne, and, putting 
on his peaked hat, took his seat.* 



* The Times, February 20, 1918. 
21 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 



CHAPTER II 



The Soldiers of Wales 



Note. — It has been impossible to give an account o£ all the 
campaigns in which the Regiments of Wales ha^e taken part 
during the War. Owing to lack of material, the only practic- 
able course has been to give some account of their doings ia 
the earlier stages of the War. 



Recruiting in Wales. — Sir Auckland Geddes in 
his speech on the 15th January, 1918, in the House 
of Commons, said, " The effort which the British 
nations have made under the one item of provision 
of men for the Armed Forces of the Crown amounts 
to not less than seven and a half million men. Of 
these 4,530,000, or 60.4 per cent, have been con- 

25 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

tributed by England, 620,000, or 8.3 per cent, by 
Scotland, 280,000, or 3.7 per cent, by Wales, 
170,000, or 2.3 per cent, by Ireland, and 900,000, 
or 12 per cent, have been contributed by the 
Dominions and Colonies." If comparisons are to 
be instituted between the man power contribution of 
the four nations it would perhaps have been fairer 
to estimate the percentage on a population basis. 

By adopting this method, the following figures 
are obtained : — 

Population Man Power Percentage 
1911 Census contribution of population 

England ... 34,045,294 4,530,000 13.30 

Scotland ... 4,760,904 620,000 13.02 

Ireland ... 4,390,219 170,000 3.87 

Wales ... 2,025,198 280,000 13.82 

These figures speak for themselves and show 
how eagerly the men of Wales came forward to do 
battle for the cause of freedom and liberty. 

It would be invidious to make a comparison 
between the recruiting efforts of the various Welsh 

26 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

counties, but some account of the methods 
adopted in a few of the counties is of interest as 
iilustrating the enthusiasm, so characteristic of 
the Celt, which attended the development of the 
machiner}^ for recruiting before the introduction 
of the Military Service Acts. 

Flintshire, — At the outbreak of the War the 
industrial portions of the County of Flint were 
represented to a certain extent in the County 
Territorial Battalion, the 5th Royal Welsh 
Fusiliers. . This battalion had strong companies 
in the towns of Mold, Flint, Connah^s Quay, Holy- 
well, and Rhyl, but did not comprise many men 
fro^m the rural districts. Immediately after the 
commencement of hostilities there was a feeling 
in some parts of the county that an early effect of 
the War would be to bring some of the main indus- 
tries of the county to. a standstill, and in view of 
this fact employers of labour oMered every facility 
to their men to enlist. This was particularly the 
case in the industrial .districts along the Dee. 
Accordingly a very large number of men enlisted 
in the earlier units of Kitchener*s Army. . Shortly 
afterwards, as a result of meetings held in connec- 

27 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

tion with the movement for the formation of a 
Welsh Army Corps, many men joined up in 
'* Pals " Battalions and the newly formed bat- 
talions connected with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 
so that by the end of 1914 Flintshire was strongly 
represented in Kitchener's Army and the Terri- 
torials. Early in 1915, the County Territorial 
Association, in conjunction with the Flintshire 
County Council, embarked upon a recruiting cam- 
paign with a view to forming a Reserve Battalion 
to the 5th Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Meetings were 
held in all parts of the coimty and in the course of 
a few weeks the Reserve Battalion was formed. 

In the autumn of that year the Lord Lieutenant 
of the County, Mr. H. N. Gladstone, in response to 
an appeal from the King and the Government, 
convened a representative gathering at Mold con- 
sisting of members of the County Bench, the 
County Council, the Urban and Rural Councils, 
and all classes of the community. This largely 
attended meeting enthusiastically decided to do 
everything that lay in its power to make the new 
recruiting campaign a success. A strong Parlia- 
mentary Recruiting Committee was formed with 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

the Lord Lieutenant as Chairman, and this Com- 
mittee at once set to work to organise the county. 
The assistance of all local authorities was invoked 
and within a very few days every town, village 
and hamlet in the county had its local recruiting 
committee which proceeded to canvass all men of 
military age. The result of the canvass was most 
encouraging and indicated a readiness on the part 
of the male population of the county to respond 
to the call of their country, so that when the attes- 
tation scheme, inaugurated by Lord Derby, came 
into operation, no difficulty was experienced in 
getting the available men to attest. In some of 
the more populous parts the local committees, 
with their recruiting officers and medical men, 
were kept busy far on into the evening attesting 
men and medically examining them. In one or 
two towns and villages practically every man of 
military age attested, and when the Military Ser- 
vice Act became law there were very few eon- 
scripts in certain parts of the county. 

The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee con- 
tinued to control the machinery of recruiting until 
the establishment of the tribunals and the passing 

29 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

of the Military Service Act. The Lord Lieutenant 
and other members of this Committee subse- 
quently became members of the County Advisory 
Committee which was established in connection 
with the work of the tribunals, and this Committee 
continued to assist the military authorities, and 
afterwards the National Service authorities, till 
the cessation of hostilities. 

Denbighshire. — In every Welsh county the re- 
cruiting of men for the Army was carried out on 
much the same lines as in Flintshire, but in Den- 
bighshire a scheme was ultimately adopted which 
to a great extent foreshadowed the methods of the 
Derby Campaign. 

The Recruiting Committee which was formed in 
Denbighshire at the outbreak of war became 
later the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, 
of which Mr. Alfred Seymour Jones, J.P., 
was appointed Chairman. Early in the spring 
of 1915 he inaugurated a campaign on lines 
which were almost identical with the Derby Cam- 
paign. A complete register of every man of mili- 
tary age, between 18 arid 41, was prepared; and 

30 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

for the work on the land, in munition works and 
in hospitals, a similar register of women was com- 
piled. Throughout the county the Chairman 
addressed meetings of the parish, rural and urban 
councils. On the register the men of military age 
were graded as to age, employment, and visible 
physical defects. Trades were classified and 
those which were regarded as essential to the win- 
ning of the War were starred. This scheme met 
with remarkable success and was ultimately sub- 
mitted and reported on to the Downing Street 
Committee. 

In the late winter of 1914, in spite of the 
opposition of the military authorities, under the 
inspiration of Mr. Seymour Jones a recruiting 
campaign for the 4th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the 
County Territorial Battalion, which had suffered 
many casualties, was inaugurated. To meet the 
expenses of the campaign a fund of £600 was 
raised, to which the County Council (contributed 
£150 out of the rates. Two companies of coii- 
valescent men belonging to the battalion marched 
through East and West Denbighshire respectively, 
visiting the most inaccessible places, with a view 

31 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

to bringing the War home to the more remote 
rural population. Through the instrumentality 
of the Local Government Board the Army Council 
eventually decided to agree to the scheme. The 
result was a signal success and the battalion was 
enabled to maintain its strength by drafts from 
its home county. 

The Women's Register which has been referred 
to was very successful. Several nurses were 
recruited who went in for special training under 
an experienced lady doctor; many women found 
employment in the county munition works; some 
took up work on farms; and others replaced en- 
listed men in various occupations. 
* * * 

In North Wales splendid recruiting work was done 
by Brigadier General Owen Thomas, who inaugu- 
rated a campaign in the vernacular for the Welsh 
speaking population. In Carnarvonshire and 
Anglesey especially good results were obtained. 
A second and third line battalion for the 6th Royal 
Welsh Fusiliers was formed within a few months, 
and for the Welsh Army Corps three battalions 
were obtained from Carnarvonshire men alone* 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

From Glamorganshire, which contains nearly half 
the population of Wales, it is computed that over 
100,000 recruits were voluntarily enlisted be- 
tween August, 1914, and November, 1915. 

Welshmen resident outside the Principality 
were not slow in responding to the demands of the 
War. While many joined the regiments asso- 
ciated with Wales large numbers enlisted in local 
English regiments. It is only necessary to glance 
through the list of military decorations and 
awards which were given to non-commissioned 
officers and men during the War to discover that 
men hailing from Wales could be found in almost 
every regiment. In London, through the instru- 
mentality of a " London Welsh Committee," of 
which Mr. Lloyd George was President and Sir 
Vincent Evans Chairman, two battalions of 
Welshmen were raised which were subsequently 
attached to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, as the 15th 
Battalion of that regiment. The Recruiting 
Offices were situated at Gray's Inn and the success 
which attended the efforts of the Committee was 
largely due to the energy and zeal of Sir Vincent 
Evans. 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 



II 



The Regiments of Wales. — The three regi- 
ments most intimately connected with Wales are 
the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the Welsh Regiment 
and the South Wales Borderers. The Royal 
Welsh Fusiliers are especially associated with 
North Wales and their recruiting area comprises 
the counties of Denbigh, Flint, Carnarvon and 
Anglesey, Merioneth and Montgomery. The 
Montgomery Yeomanry and the Denbighshire 
Yeomanry are also attached to this ancient 
regiment. South Wales is the recruiting ground 
of the Welsh Regiment, and during the War bat- 
talions were raised by Pembrokeshire, Carmar- 
thenshire, and Glamorganshire. Four battalions 
were also recruited from the Rhondda Valley, 
Swansea, and Cardiff. To this regiment the Pem- 
brokeshire and Glamorganshire Yeomanry are also 
attached. Monmouthshire raised four battalions 
for her county regiment, the Monmouths, while 
the county of Brecon supplied a battalion to the 
South Wales Borderers, which also recruited in 
South Wales. 

34 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

During the War Welshmen were to be found in a 
large number of English regiments, particularly 
in the Cheshire Regiment, the King's Shropshire 
Light Infantry, and the Herefords. Under the 
Territorial scheme Wales also provided units for 
the Royal Horse Artillery, the Royal Field Artil- 
lery, and the Royal Garrison Artillery, and in 
addition had her contingents in the Royal Engi- 
neers, the Royal Army Medical Corps, and the 
Army Service Corps. 

The Welsh Guards. — One result of the War 
was the revival of the idea of a special Guards 
Regiment for Wales. This proposal was eventu- 
ally agreed to, and the Welsh Guards came into 
being. Before the War Wales had been in the 
recruiting area of the Grenadier Guards, and 
when H.M. the King granted permission for the 
formation of a regiment of foot guards, to be 
designated " The Welsh Guards," on February 
23rd, 1915, a nucleus of veterans was formed by 
the transference of a certain number of Welshmen 
in the Grenadiers to the new regiment. Whatever 
may have been the official reason for the forma- 
tion of this new unit, it was generally felt in Wales 

35 

d2 



WALES; ITS PAIIT IN THE WAR 

that this was a compliment to the Principality in 
recognition of her excellent record in the matter 
of recruiting. 

The first battalion of the Welsh Guards was 
formed on February 27th, 1915, and placed under 
the command of Colonel Murray-Threipland, 
D.S.O. On March 1st, St. David's Day, they 
mounted guard for the first time, and in the 
evening there was an important dinner to cele- 
brate this historic event in the military history of 
Wales. Among those present were Viscount 
Kitchener (Secretary of State for W^ar), Lieut. 
General Sir Francis Lloyd, K.C.B., Colonel 
Murray-Threipland, D.S.O., Colonel Lord Fal- 
mouth (Colonel of the Coldstream Guards), 
Colonel H. Fludyer (Commanding the Scots 
Guards), Colonel J. A. G. R. Drummond-Hay 
(Commanding the Coldstream Guards), Colonel 
Dairy mple White, Colonel Lewis, Major J. B. 
Arbuthnot (Brigade Major), Brigadier General 
R. Scott Kerr, Sir Richard Bulkeley, Colonel Noel 
Corry, Captain Sir George Arthur (Private Secre- 
tary to Lord Kitchener), Captain Douglas Gordon, 
Lieut. Williams Bulkeley, Lieut. Lord Clive, 
Lieut. P. L. M. Battye. 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

On the 3rd August, the Battalion paraded at 
Buckingham Palace and was presented with its 
Colours by H.M. the King, and on the 17th of the 
month it embarked for France. 



m 



MONS, THE MaRNE AND THE AlSNE. — 111 the 

ranks of the Old Contemptibles were three bat- 
talions, the 1st South Wales Borderers, the 2nd 
Welsh Regiment, and the 2nd Royal Welsh 
Fusiliers, worthy representatives of the three regi- 
ments of Wales. 

Of these three battalions the first two were 
attached to the third Infantry Brigade (General 
Landon) of the 1st Division of Haig's Army 
Corps, and the third to the 19th Brigade, which 
during the early weeks of the War was a 
semi-independent unit. At Mons the 1st S.W.B. 
and the 2nd Welsh were in reserve and con- 
sequently were hardly engaged, but in the sub- 
sequent retreat they had a very stiff time. Some 

37 



WALES; ITS PART IN THE WAR 

very excellent work was performed by the 2nd 
Welsh when on flank guard on August 27th — a day 
when the position of the 1st Corps was critical, but 
neither they nor the S.W.B. were heavily engaged 
during the retreat. The 2nd R.W.F. held the 
line Conde — ^Mons Canal from Lock No. 5 west of 
Pommerouel to Conde. During the retreat they 
covered the retirement of the hard pressed 5th 
Division from Le Cateau. Likewise at the Battle 
of the Mame none of these three Welsh battalions 
were very heavily engaged, though the 2nd 
R.W.F. had some sharp fighting in clearing part 
of the town of La Ferte sous Tovarre, south of the 
Mame. 

It was the battle of the Aisne which gave the 
Welshmen the first chance of proving their mettle. 
On September 14th the Germans made a heavy 
counter attack which threatened to cut in two 
Haig's Army Corps. The 1st S.W.B. and the 2nd 
Welsh were rapidly brought up and put in on the 
left of the 1st Division in Chivy Valley. The Ger- 
mans were driven back and most effective help 
was given to the brigade on the extreme right of 
the 2nd Division. It was on this occasion that 

88 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

Lance-Corporal William Fuller rescued Captain 
Haggard under heavy fire, a deed which won him 
the V.C. Afterwards, when the British advance 
was brought to a standstill, these two battalions 
maintained themselves in an advanced position 
at the head of the Chivy Valley for several days, 
until withdrawn to a position a little further in 
the rear, south west of Troy on. Here on the 26th 
September the 1st S.W.B. had to face the 
strongest of all the counter attacks which were 
made by the Germans during the whole month. 
At one point the line was penetrated and in the 
company on the left all the officers were casualties. 
The reserve company with the help of the 2nd 
Welsh counter attacked with the bayonet and re- 
took the lost trenches. Enormous losses were in- 
flicted on the Germans. The S.W.B. suffered 
heavy casualties — 1 officers and 182 men. Both 
of these battalions were warmly praised by Sir 
Douglas Haig for their gallantry and endurance. 
During the Battle of the Aisne the 19th Brigade 
was mainly in reserve and so the 2nd R.W.F. were 
only lightly engaged. 

The First Battle of Ypres. — Throughout the 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

months of October and November Welsh troops 
were almost continuously engaged in the heavy 
fighting which took place in the Ypres district. 
AVhen the 2nd Army Corps began its north 
easterly advance past Bethune towards the Aubers 
Ridge and Lille it included the 2nd R.W.F., 
attached to the 19th Brigade. This regiment had 
been moved north from the Aisne with the 6th 
Division. Advancing past Bailleul and across the 
Lys it was heavily engaged in the gap between the 
left of the 2nd Corps and the right of the 3rd, 
near Le Maisnil and Fromelles. In this sector the 
immediate task was not to attack but to hold back 
the German counter attacks. Although the men 
of this regiment were not stationed in that part of 
the line where the most critical fighting occurred 
yet their work was of the greatest importance. 
The strain on them was exceedingly severe and at 
one time the battalion was twenty-three days con- 
secutively in the trenches without receiving any 
relief. 

While the 2nd R.W.F. were being severely 
tested in the Lys valley, the 1st battalion of this 
regiment landed in Belgium with the 7th Division. 

40 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

With the rest of the division it firsrt of all marched 
into Belgium with the object of assisting the Bel- 
gian Army, but was forced to withdraw and 
retired to Ypres. It is common knowledge that 
the 7th Division was regarded during the first 
battle of Ypres as the most reliable unit of the 
British Army, and in the struggle of this division 
before Ypres the part played by the 2nd R.W.F. 
was most important. It was on the point of 
storming the German trenches at Kleytbock, near 
Menin, when, on October 19th, news was received 
that the Germans were advancing in great force 
and that retreat was necessary. Falling back on 
the Ime Zonnebeke-Broodseinde, it held on to its 
position in the face of furious shelling and constant 
attacks. With the arrival of the 1st Corps from 
the Aisnei relief came, but it was almost at once 
sent into action again further south near Zand- 
voorde, where it was subjected again to constant 
bombardment and repeated attacks. It was 
holding its position just east of Zandvoorde 
on October 30th, when the troops on its 
right were overwhelmed and the Germans push- 
ing on were able to swing round and roll up the 
Welsh Fusiliers from the right. This engage- 

41 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

ment left the 2nd R.W.F. a mere remnant of 50 
men. The survivors were, however, attached to 
another battalion of the same brigade (the 22nd) 
and actually continued to hold part of the line. 
More than this, they took part in a most successful 
counter attack on November 6th, which restored 
the position at a very critical point. 

The two Welsh battalions in the 1st Army 
Corps also revealed their splendid quality in the 
First Battle of Ypres. After their arrival from 
the Aisne they were sent into the line on the 21st 
October, near Poelcapelle, where the 1st Division, 
to which they belonged, encountered a German 
Army Corps advancing against Ypres. The 
British advance was brought to a standstill, but 
in spite of enormous losses the Germans could not 
shake the line held by the 1st S.W.B. and the 
2nd Welsh in front of Langemarck. When the 
French took over this sector the 1st Corps moved 
towards Hooge and Gheluvelt with the object of 
capturing Menin. The overwhelming numerical 
superiority of the Germans frustrated this project 
and but little progress was made. The enemy 
brought up corps after corps and delivered one 

42 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

fresh attack after another. The 1st S.W.B. and 
the 2nd Welsh had to fight hard defensive battles, 
sometimes counter attacking when the line had 
been broken, sometimes holding a long thin line 
in spite of the terrible bombardment of the Ger- 
man artillery and the constant attacks of fresh 
troops. On October 29th, when the Germans 
broke the line at the cross roads east of Gheluvelt, 
these two battalions were prominent in the 
counter attack that stopped the enemy's further 
advance and restored the position. The trenches 
at this particular point were subsequently allotted 
to them and so the brunt of the great German 
attack of October 31st fell largely on these two 
Welsh battalions. It was one of the most critical 
moments in the whole battle. The 2nd Welsh 
were in a salient and enfiladed. After struggling 
in vain to retain their position and inflicting and 
suffering heavy losses, the remnants of the bat- 
talion were forced back, but they rallied behind 
Gheluvelt and helped to check the German ad- 
vance. Meanwhile the 1st S.W.B. , though 
heavily pressed in an exposed position, repelled 
an attack on their right and held on. Their losses 
were enormous, but they stuck to their trenches 

43 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

till a counter attack by the Worcesters on their 
right restored the day. The Worcesters have 
deservedly earned great credit for the exploit, but 
strict fairness demands that the name of the 1st 
S.W.B. should be coupled with theirs, as it was 
the tenacious resistance of the Borderers which 
made the opening for the Worcesters' onslaught. 

Not even after these terrible experiences were 
these two Welsh battalions allowed to rest and 
refit. The line was too thin and not a man could 
be spared. First between Veldhoek and Gheluvelt, 
and afterwards near Zillebeke, they had to go into 
the line again and endure heavy shell fire, con- 
stant sniping, and repeated counter attacks. 
Finally, when later in November the French took 
over this sector, these two battalions had been re- 
duced to mere skeletons. 

During the remainder of November and the 
month of December the 1st S.W.B. and the 2nd 
Welsh were in reserve, reorganising and refitting, 
but the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Royal Welsh 
Fusiliers were in the line south of Armentieres, 
undergoing great hardships in flooded trenches in 
constant need of repair. 

44 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

Towards the end of December the 1st S.W.B. 
and the 2nd Welsh were called upon to retrieve 
the situation in the Givenchy area, where 
the Germans, by a sudden attack on the trenches 
held by the Indian Corps, had carried the front line 
and seemed on the point of capturing the ridge on 
which the village of Givenchy stands. This knoll 
or ridge is almost the only high ground in a 
marshy district and has been called the key to 
Bethune. These two Welsh battalions, supported 
by the 4th R.W.F. (Denbighshire Territorials), 
which had just joined the 3rd Brigade, were con- 
spicuous in the counter attack by which the 1st 
Division restored the situation. The difficulties 
under which this counter attack was made baffle 
description. The country was a swamp inter- 
sected by broad and deep ditches; the mud 
clogged the rifles of the men and they could not be 
fired. It was barely possible even for men who 
were not weighed down by arms and equipment to 
move. The artillery and machine gun fire of the 
enemy was heavy and continuous. In spite of 
these obstacles, many of the lost trenches were re- 
taken, the German advance was checked, and a 
satisfactory line established and consolidated. In 

45 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

this connection it is worthy of notice that the 4th 
R.W.F. were the first Welsh Territorial battalion 
to go into action. 

For the remainder of the winter and throughout 
the spring of 1915 these three battalions remained 
in the Givenchy area. In January they helped 
to repulse a powerful German assault on 
Givenchy Village. During these months of 
trench warfare of the most exacting and stren- 
uous kind the men of Denbighshire, to which 
county the 4th R.W.F. belonged, acquitted them- 
selves nobly and well. Periods of real rest were 
few and short, and the conditions in the water- 
logged trenches extremely exhausting and trying. 
The British artillery were too short of ammuni- 
tion to be able to do much to support the infantry 
and in all the special weapons of trench warfare, 
the bomb, the minenwerfer, and the aerial torpedo, 
the British were at a disadvantage compared with 
their adversaries. The hardships and difficulties 
which the Old Army and their Territorial com- 
rades endured in the first winter of the War can- 
not be exaggerated. Fortunately, the Germans 
also were none too well supplied with ammunition 

46 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

for their artillery, and bombardments, though 
frequent, were not as heavy as they had been. 

The Ypres Sector. — One of the worst sectors 
of the whole of the British front was in the area 
immediately south-east of Ypres, that part astride 
the Ypres-Comines Canal in which " Hill 60 " and 
" The Bluff " were the outstanding landmarks. It 
was in this area that the 1st Welsh had their intro- 
duction to trench warfare when they arrived in 
Flanders at the end of January. This battalion 
formed part of the 28th Division, composed 
of battalions which had just returned home from 
India and the Colonies. It was a particularly 
bard experience for these troops to go almost 
straight from the tropics into sue A a difi&cult part 
of the line. The ground was a wooded swamp 
and half the trees had been brought down by bom- 
bardment. Lying at all angles on the ground 
they formed a serious obstacle to any forward 
movement and afforded but scanty protection 
against shrapnel and bullets. The trenches were in a 
bad condition. At some points they had fallen 
in and at others they were overlooked by the Ger- 
man positions. The communications were in- 

47 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

different and the fallen trees made artillery 
support a difficult business. The enemy positions 
were held by a Bavarian Corps who had the advan- 
tage of knowing the ground well and were ex- 
ceedingly alert and aggressive. No Division had 
a more trying experience than the 28th. In less 
than a month frostbite, trench-feet and the losses 
from enemy action had reduced the strength of 
the divisional brigades by 50 per cent. The 1st 
Welsh shared to the full in the hardships and 
heavy fighting of this strenuous period, but event- 
ually the 84th Brigade (Winter) to which they 
belonged was so reduced that it had to be relieved 
and removed to a quieter part of the line. 

Reinforcements brought the battalions up to 
strength again and at the beginning of April the 
Brigade moved back to the Ypres area. It was 
almost immediately sent to take over the trenches 
at the eastern end of the Ypres salient in the 
neighbourhood of Broodseinde and was soon en- 
gaged in heavy fighting. The trenches which the 
1st Welsh were holding were in close proximity to 
those of the enemy, too near for the British artil- 
lery to be able to lend effective support and not 

48 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

far enough away to be out of range of the enemy's 
trench mortars. The battalion had a very hard 
time, but more than once were able to retaliate 
most effectively on the Germans and, though hard 
pressed, it succeeded in maintaining its position. 

Towards the end of April the Germans began to 
employ gas. The French troops who were holding 
the line to the west of the Ypres sector were over- 
come and all available reserves had to be diverted 
to fill the gap thus created. Consequently, the 
1st Welsh had to remain in the front line trenches 
which they were occupying for a fortnight without 
relief, enduring constant bombardments and 
attacks. During all this time, when British 
troops were making effort after effort to 
regain the ground which the Germans had 
won through the agency of their poison gas,, 
the 1st Welsh maintained their position in the 
front line. 

Early in May, however, it was found necessary 
to withdraw from the Broodseinde trenches to a 
position nearer Ypres, as the inability to regain 
the ground lost by the French necessitated a 

49 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

readjustment of the whole line. The Germans 
were not slow in attacking the new position. 
They were still superior in artillery, in ammu- 
nition, in trench mortars and machine guns, and 
no adequate protection had yet been devised 
against gas attacks. The defence of the Ypres 
salient at this time in the face of these overwhelm- 
ing advantages can take its place among the his- 
toric episodes in the annals of the regiments 
which were engaged. The Germans with every- 
thing in their favour failed to break through. In 
this fighting the 1st Welsh were the only Regular 
representatives of the Principality, but they were 
well supported by the three battalions of the Mon- 
mouthshire Regiment (T.F.). The 2nd Mon- 
mouths had previously been allotted to the 4th 
Division and from December to the end of April 
had been engaged in trench warfare near Armen- 
tieres. The 1st and 3rd Monmouths were at- 
tached to the 28th Division and had already been 
engaged in the terrible struggle which was being 
waged in the Ypres salient. These three battalions 
acquitted themselves splendidly, though finally 
they were so much reduced that they had to be 
temporarily amalgamated as one battalion. The 

50 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

1st Welsh also suffered hardly less heavily, but 
notwithstanding, after a month of strenuous and 
fierce fighting, on the night of May 24th they 
made a counter-attack near the Bellewaarde Lake 
and actually succeeded in reaching the German 
trenches and in recapturing some of them. 

Neu^'^ Chapelle, Richebourg, and Festubert. 
— ^Meanwhile, the other Welsh units which were 
in France had been distinguishing themselves in 
other parts of the line. The 1st R.W.F. took part 
in the battle of Neuve Chapelle in March, where 
they were on the left of the main attack. In the 
great attack of May 9th on Rue des Bois the 2nd 
Welsh, the 1st S.W.B., and the 4th R.W.F. made 
gallant and desperate attempts to carry the almost 
impregnable German positions between Festubert 
and Neuve Chapelle. The great strength of the 
German breastworks, the inadequacy of the sup- 
ply of ammunition on the British side, and the 
deadly fire of the German machine-guns resulted 
in the failure of an attack which was urged with 
the utmost gallantry and determination. The 
three battalions suffered heavy losses. Yet if the 
attack itself failed it helped the progress of Mar- 

51 

e2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

shal Foch's 10th Army at Arras by diverting and 
holding up German reserves which might other- 
wise have been employed in stemming the French 
advance towards Vimy Ridge. A week later the 
British renewed their attack on a smaller front 
north of Festubert and met with more success. In 
this effort the 1st R.W.F. were prominent. Mov- 
ing into the trenches on the night of the 15th May 
they attacked on the following day. Their com- 
manding officer, Lieut. Col. R. E. Gabbett, was 
killed directly he scaled the parapet, whereupon 
Captain C. I. Stockwell assumed command. The 
first-line trenches of the Germans were captured 
and the battalion pushed on to its final objective, 
an orchard at La Quinque Rue. Unfortunately 
the brigade on their right was held up and conse- 
quently the Fusiliers were enfiladed on that fiank 
by machine-gun fire from the enemy. In spite 
of this they held on to the orchard till they were 
ordered to retire, the supports which were sent 
up to them having failed to reach them owing to 
the German artillery barrage. Their losses were 
enormous and amounted to no less than 19 officers 
and 544 men. During the summer the fighting on 
the Western Front quieted down considerably. 

52 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

The Battle of Loos. — In July three Welsh 
battalions belonging to the "Second New Army" 
arrived in France; they were the 9th R.W.F., the 
9th Welsh and the 8th S.W.B. After a proba- 
tionary period of trench warfare in the Bethune 
area the 9th R.W.F. and the 9th Welsh took part 
in the general offensive of the First Army known 
as the Battle of Loos. 

The objective of these two battalions was the 
German trenches east of Festubert, the attack 
forming part of the holding movement associated 
with this battle. In this operation the 9th 
R.W.F., a battalion composed largely of miners 
from North and South Wales, lost their command- 
ing officer, 14 officers, and 250 men. Although 
the attacks of these two battalions were not 
actually successful they directly contributed, 
like the other holding attacks of that day, to 
the success of the main offensive further south, 
which resulted in the capture of the German 
front line system from the south of Loos to the 
Hohenzollern Redoubt, with many guns, and over 
3,000 prisoners. Moreover, large German forces 
were held up which would otherwise have been 

53 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

available against the French armies in Cham- 
pagne, where Marshal Joffre's successful attack 
undoubtedly assisted to relieve the pressure on 
Russia at a critical moment. If the attack at 
Loos did not achieve all that it originally gave 
promise of, it was a distinct though limited suc- 
cess, and the Welsh battalions which took part 
in it acquitted themselves in a manner worthy of 
all praise. 

South-west of Hulluch the 1st S.W.B. and the 
2nd Welsh were well to the fore in the attack by 
which the 1st Division broke through the German 
trenches. The 1st S.W.B. were fiercely engaged 
on the night of September 25th and beat back 
a strong counter-attack, while the 2nd Welsh 
made a gallant attack against the 2nd German 
system of defences south-east of Hulluch on the 
26th and pushed forward further than any 
other unit. In the 7th Division the 1st R.W.F. 
carried the German position on the left of the 1st 
Division and in front of the quarries, arriving on 
the scene of action at a time when the leading line 
had been checked. After storming the strongly 
held trenches they quickly consolidated the posi- 
tion and helped to hold the ground gained against 

54 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

the German counter-attacks. The 2nd R.W.F., 
who were now part of the 2nd Division, were en- 
gaged east of Cuinchy, a part of the Hne where the 
attack did not succeed. The artillery had failed 
to cut the enemy's barbed wire entanglements, 
but in spite of this the Fusiliers made a gallant at- 
tempt to renew an attack in which two other bat- 
talions had already been repulsed, only to fail 
and suffer heavy losses. Later in the battle the 1st 
Welsh were moved down from the sector which 
the^^ were holding further north, to help in main- 
taining the ground which had been gained near 
the Hohenzollem Redoubt. With them came a 
territorial battalion of Glamorganshire men, the 
6th Welsh, and these two battalions were soon 
engaged in heavy fighting around the much dam- 
aged Hohenzollern Redoubt. It was not long 
before the Germans made desperate efforts to re- 
cover the ground which they had lost on Septem- 
ber 25th, and largely owing to their great superi- 
ority in the supply of bombs they were able to 
make considerable headway, though not without 
heavy losses. In resisting this counter-attack 
these two battalions of the Welsh Regiment played 
a conspicuous part. 

56 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

On October 1st the 1st Welsh made a most 
successful attack on tjie Little Willie Trench, 
capturing several prisoners and inflicting heavy 
losses on the enemy. It was in the fighting of 
this period that the 6th Welsh lost their command- 
ing ojfficer, Lord Ninian Stuart, the Member of 
Parliament for Cardiff. On the 13th of this 
month the 1st Monmouths, who were attached to 
the North Midland T.F. Division as a Pioneer Bat- 
talion, distinguished themselves in the attack on 
the Hohenzollem Redoubt, with spade and rifle 
doing excellent service in the consolidation of the 
position. 

The Welsh Guards at Loos. — ^But perhaps the 
great interest of the Battle of Loos, as far as the 
Welsh regiments are concerned, lies in the fact 
that it saw the Welsh Guards in action for the 
first time. The Guards Division was under the 
command of Lord Cavan, and the 1st Welsh 
Guards, together with the 1st and 4th Grenadier 
Guards and the 2nd Scots Guards, formed the 8rd 
Brigade. In command of the Welsh Guards was 
Lieut. Colonel Murray Threipland. The immedi- 
ate objective of this division was the recovery of 

56 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

the ground east and north-east of the town of Loos, 
which had been captured by the 15th (Scottish) 
Division on the first day of the battle, but a great 
part of which the Germans had regained on Sep- 
tember 26th as the result of heavy counter-attacks. 

In order to reach the town of Loos, from which 
the attack on Hill 70 was to be launched, the 
Brigade had to cross an open plain for over a 
mile under artillery fire and in full view of German 
observers. The order of march and attack was 4th 
Bn. Grenadiers, Welsh Guards, 2nd Bn. Scots 
and 1st Bn. Grenadiers. It was originally inten- 
ded that the attack, which was dependent upon 
the success of the 2nd Guards Brigade on the left 
in attaining it's objectives, should be undertaken by 
the 4th Bn. Grenadiers. On reaching the trenches 
in Loos it was found necessary to forego the origi- 
nal plan, and the attack was entrusted to the 
Welsh Guards and some two hundred men of the 
Grenadiers. For the attack the Grenadiers were 
placed on the left and the Prince of Wales Com- 
pany of the Welsh Guards, with a frontage of two 
platoons, on the right. Of the three remaining 
companies of the Welsh Guards two were placed 

57 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

in support and one in reserve. The attack was 
launched at half-past five in the evening and the 
crest of the hill was carried. The German fire, 
however, was murderous, and the summit became 
untenable, so orders were given to the men to fall 
back and dig themselves in on the nearer side of 
the hill, and here they remained till they were re- 
lieved on September 30th. 

The behaviour of the Welsh Guards was magnifi- 
cent and strictly in accord with the great tradition 
of the Guards. In the advance over the plain 
there was no disorder ; every platoon kept its place 
and the men advanced steadily and in excellent 
order. The Principality has every reason to be 
proud of the way in which the Welsh Guards 
acquitted themselves in their first engagement. 

Welsh Battalions in the East. — In the autumn 
of 1915 some more Welsh Service Battalions 
arrived in France. They formed part of the 3rd 
New Army and belonged to the " K.3 " divisions. 
They included the 10th and 11th R.W.F., the 
6th, 7th, and 8th S.W.B., and the 11th Welsh. 
The majority of these, however, were destined to 

58 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

make only a short stay in France, and in 
October the 11th R.W.F., the 7th and 8th 
S.W.B., and the 11th Welsh were all transferred 
to a new theatre of operations, where British 
troops had never served before in any previous 
war — namely, Macedonia. 

Welsh battalions had already taken part in an 
important campaign in the Mediterranean. These 
were the one remaining Regular Welsh battalion, 
which has not yet been mentioned, the 2nd 
S.W.B., and the three Welsh battalions of the 
First Hundred Thousand, the 8th R.W.F., the 4th 
S.W.B., and the 8th Welsh, together with some 
five territorial battalions of the 53rd (Welsh) 
Division, many of whose normal units had (like 
the 4th R.W.F. and the 6th Welsh) gone to France 
independently, so that the Division had to be com- 
pleted with units from Cheshire, Herefordshire, 
and the Home Counties. 

The outbreak of War found the 2nd S.W.B. 
on garrison duty in China, and so it was that it 
fell to its lot to represent the British Army at the 
capture of the German Colony of Kiao Chau. Re- 
turning to England in the autumn of 1914, the 

59 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

battalion was allotted to the 29th Division, which 
went out with Sir Ian Hamilton to Gallipoli in the 
spring of 1915 and achieved the impossible by 
landing at Cape Helles on April 25th. In this 
great exploit the share of the 2nd S.W.B. was 
most distinguished. The bulk of the battalion 
landed from trawlers inside the mouth of the 
Straits at Beach "S." and captured an important 
work known as De Tott's Battery. This was ad- 
mirably executed, but the check received by the 
troops who landed from the "River Clyde" at 
Sedd el Bahr prevented the battalion from carry- 
ing out its further tasik of taking in flank the re- 
treat of the Turks from the end of the Peninsular. 
However, though isolated, it maintained its posi- 
tion until on April 27th it was enabled to estab- 
lish contact with the troops which had landed 
nearer Cape Helles. One company of the battalion 
had been attached to the force which landed at 
"Y." beach on the West Coast and distinguished 
itself greatly in the heavy fighting which took 
place there. 

In the subsequent advances against Krithia and 
Achi Baba the 2nd S.W.B. were constantly 

60 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

engaged and won great credit. In the heavy 
fighting of the first week of May, in the 
attack of June 4th, and above all in the highly 
successful Battle of Gully Ravine of June 28th, 
the battalion was to the fore. If it did not always 
maintain all the ground it gained it was because 
on more than one occasion it had advanced ahead 
of the units on the flanks. No battalion, even in 
the 29th Division, achieved more or acquired a 
higher reputation. In August, after the failure 
of the first attack at Suvla Bay, the 87th Brigade, 
to which the Borderers were attached, was sent 
round to Suvla to take part in the new attempt of 
August 21st. In this attack the battalion ad- 
vanced against the strong position known as Scimi- 
tar Hill and again distinguished itself, though the 
repulse of troops at other points compelled it to 
withdraw eventually to its original position. The 
battalion remained at Suvla till October, when it 
was again transferred to Cape Helles, only to leave 
in January. 

Few battalions earned a higher reputation in the 
Gallipoli Expedition than the 2nd S.W.B. It was 
famous not only for its gallantry in attacking the 

61 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

most formidable and stoutly defended positions, 
but for its high standard of discipline and of work 
in the trenches. On one occasion a battalion which 
needed instruction in trench warfare was tem- 
porarily amalgamated with the 2nd S.W.B. be- 
cause that unit was amongst the very best in the 
Division. 

The three Welsh Service Battalions of the First 
Hundred Thousand formed part of the force to 
which was entrusted the task of breaking out from 
the narrow confines of the position to which the 
Australian and New Zealand Corps had been so 
tenaciously clinging ever since April, with the 
object of capturing the formidable heights of Sari 
Bair. This was a tremendous task for units which 
were not yet twelve months old. The 4th S.W.B. , 
who formed part of the column detailed to cover 
the left flank of General Godley's move, acquitted 
themselves splendidly. Advancing in the dark 
over rough, intricate and unknown ground, they 
had to pass in silence Turkish sniping positions 
and rush a ridge which was held in great 
strength. For any unit, even a regular battalion, 
this would have been a big task. For the 4th 

62 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

S.W.B. it was their first baptism of fire. Damak- 
jelik Bair was surprised and captured and success- 
fully defended against a strong counter-attack, an 
achievement of no mean merit. Unfortunately, 
the battalion lost its commanding officer, Lieut. 
Colonel F. M. Gillespie, to whose brilliant leading 
the battalion owed so much. If the 8th R.W.F. 
and the 8th Welsh were not called upon to carry 
out any task of quite the same difficulty as the 
4th S.W.B. they came in for very heavy fighting 
and had plenty of opportunity of showing their 
mettle. 

Three other battalions of the Royal Welsh 
Fusiliers — namely, the 5th, 6th, and 7th, re- 
presenting the counties of Flint, Carnarvon, 
Anglesey and Merioneth, were also engaged in the 
fighting on the Peninsula which took place be- 
tween August and December. In the attack on 
''Burnt Hill" the 6th R.W.F. played a conspicu- 
ous part and lost heavily, and in the fighting near 
Salt Lake the 7th R.W.F. also won renown. 

Mesopotamia and Egypt. — After the evacua- 
tion of Gallipoli the 8th R.W.F., with the 8th 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Welsh and the 4th S.W.B., returned to Egypt to 
refit and reorganise. In January, 1916, the 13th 
Division, to which they were attached, was sent 
to Mesopotamia to take part in the attempt to 
relieve the hard pressed garrison of Kut el Amara. 
The three battalions saw desperate fighting and 
gained more than one success, but the adverse 
weather conditions and the flooded Tigris were 
all against the relieving force, and its efforts failed. 
The 8th R.W.F. particularly distinguished itself 
in the attack on Sannaiyat on the night of April 
8th. In December, when Sir Stanley Maude 
started on his campaign for the recapture of Kut, 
these three Welsh battalions were able to revenge 
themselves for their disappointment of the Spring, 
and in the brilliant operations which culminated 
in the capture of Baghdad and the driving of the 
defeated Turks up the Tigris and into the hills, 
they played a distinguished part. 

In the operations in Egypt and subsequently in 
Palestine Welsh territorial troops also figured 
prominently. They had a long period of service in 
the defences on the Suez Canal and were con- 
spicuous in the fighting at Romani in August, 1916, 

64 ' 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

and subsequently in the checkered fighting of the 
Spring of 1917 round Gaza. It was in the great 
advance in November and December of that year, 
which saw the Gaza-Beersheba line broken and 
culminated in the capture of Jerusalem, that the 
53rd Welsh Division got its chance, and in the great 
achievements of General Allenby's campaign it 
played a notable part. From that time forward 
the Welsh battalions shared in the astounding 
victory which swept the Turks out of Palestine 
and brought Damascus, Aleppo and all the famous 
ports of the Levant into British hands. Yet this 
does not quite exhaust the story of the Welsh units 
who served in the East. The Welsh Horse, a new 
yeomanry regiment which was raised after the 
outbreak of War served, dismounted, at Gallipoli 
for four months, and the four other Welsh yeo- 
manry regiments (Denbighshire, Glamorganshire, 
Montgomeryshire and Pembrokeshire) went out to 
Egypt as dismounted troops, did duty there for 
over a year as part of the force which defended 
Western Egypt against the Senussi, and then, 
amalgamated into battalions of a ''Yeomanry" 
Infantry Division, did splendid service in the con- 
quest of Palestine, till the Spring of 1918, when 

65 



WALES; ITS PART IN THE WAR 

they were recalled to France to earn further 
laurels in the Great Offensive which changed the 
face of Europe. 

The Welsh battalions which had been transferred 
to Macedonia — namely, the 11th R.W.F., the 7th 
and 8th S.W.B. and the 11th Welsh, displayed 
great vigour in the raids and trench warfare which 
characterised the fighting in that theatre of opera- 
tions, and on the Doiran-Vardar front the Bul- 
garians learned to respect the valour and dash 
of the Welsh battalions. 

To do justice to the exploits of the soldiers of 
Wales in the Great War it would be necessary to 
write many volumes, a task which would require 
a knowledge of detail and a fund of information 
which is not yet and cannot be for many years 
available to the general public. The records of 
many battalions of the regiments of Wales have 
not yet been written and many of the officers who 
alone were in a position to know particulars of the 
various engagements and campaigns have fallen 
on the field. It must be left to the military his- 
torian of the future to record the doings of the 

66 



THE SOLDIERS OF WALES 

Welsh battalions in the Battle of the Somme, 
where the newly-formed 38th (Welsh) Division, 
which was recruited with men from every part of 
Wales, covered itself with glory in the famous at- 
tack on Mametz Wood, and after serving for many 
months in Flanders, added still further to the 
lustre of its name by its notable defeat of the 
Prussian Guard at Pilken. It is only necessary 
to add that a study of the British Official com- 
muniques for the last year of the War reveals the 
courage and tenacity of the Welsh troops and the 
recognition of their national characteristics. 



For the information in this chapter the Editors are indebted 
to Captain C. T. Atkinson, Lord Kerry, Captain The Earl of 
Lisburne, Lieut. Colonel J. O. Fisher, Major C. Crawshay, 
H. N. Gladstone, Esq., Lieut. -Colonel T. M. Keene, Captaia 
Caradoc Davies, A. Seymour Jones, Esq. 



67 

r2 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 



CHAPTER III 



Industrial Efforts of South Wales 



Steam Coal. — When War broke out South Wales 
had only one important contribution to make to 
the material necessities of the Allies, and that was 
Welsh steam coal. This product was the food of 
the engines hidden beneath the decks of the 
cruisers and battleships of the British Grand 
Fleet, and generated the driving power which 
sped them on their way to the battles of Jutland 
and Dogger Bank. But it was not only the British 
Navy that drew upon the resources of the South 
Wales coalfield. The fleets of France, Italy, 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

America and Brazil were largely dependent for 
their supplies upon the same source. Welsh steam 
coal was required and was forthcoming in quanti- 
ties four times as great as pre-war demands. If 
it had not been for the introduction of oil-driven 
engines it would have been impossible to meet the 
requirements of the Allied navies and at the same 
time maintain sufficient reserves for home indus- 
tries. The significant fact is that the sea and land 
borne supplies of coal to the Allied fleets were 
sufficient to meet demands. This alone speaJcs 
volumes for the organisation of the coal-carrying 
trade of Cardiff, Newport, Barry and Swansea, 
to say nothing of the work of the miners them- 
selves. 

The Miners. — There has been much criticism 
of the South Wales miners' attitude to the War, 
both in responsible and irresponsible quarters, 
from the uninformed and the informed. His pat- 
riotism has been called in question. To compre- 
hend his point of view his daily life and environ- 
ment must be visualised. The South Wales mining 
towns and villages are the hotbeds of every ex- 
treme socialistic growth in the political world, and 

72 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

the reason is not far to seek. The chief features 
of South Wales mining townships are their incon- 
venience, their ugliness and their unhealthiness. 
The long dreary rows of drab houses, the filthy 
and haphazard streets, the lack of gardens and 
rec^reation spaces, and the 'general atmosphere 
of smoke and coal-dust, tell upon the mental out- 
look of the inhabitants. The undying conflict 
between Capital and Labour takes on its most 
violent aspect in these sordid and monotonous 
surroundings. The young socialistic and syndica- 
listic spirits among the miners play upon the 
vague feehngs of unrest and discontent engen- 
dered in the minds of their fellow workers by their 
uncongenial environment -and their toil in the 
bowels of the earth. In such communities there 
is not much room for the ideals of a large patriot- 
ism, and it must be confessed that the greatest 
struggle between the forces of tyranny and free- 
dom the world has ever seen has not sufficed to 
quench the fires of social warfare in the hearts of 
many of the miners of south-east Wales. To 
realise this is to appreciate to the full the splendid 
response made by the South Wales colliers to the 
call for men in the early days of the War. In 

73 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

1914 the total number of men employed in the 
Silurian coal-field was over 230,000, including old 
men and boys. By the end of 1915 approximately 
over 30,000 young men had voluntarily enlisted 
and joined the forces. 

By-Products and Coke Ovens. — Important as 
is the actual coal, its by-products are even more 
valuable. From a single lump of coal as many as 
80 by-products can be obtained. This fact ex- 
plains the importance of by-product and bee- 
hive coke ovens. At the outbreak of war the num- 
ber of these ovens in South Wales was less than 
three hundred, but the recognition by the iron 
and steel industries that the metallurgical coke 
obtained from the low volatile coals of South 
Wales was, if not better in quality than, at least 
equal to, the Durham product, soon led to a great 
increase in this number. At the time this develop- 
ment was helped by the demand for raw material 
for explosives. It is a matter of great credit to 
the South Wales coalowners that, without finan- 
cial aid from the Government, they willingly in- 
curred the expense of increasing the number of 
their coke ovens, and of the erection of new bat- 

74 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

teries and by-product plants. By-product coke 
ovens working on South Wales coals are not pro- 
mising commercial propositions, yet whereas in 
1914 there were only two batteries of ovens able 
to produce benzol and toluol, to-day there is only 
one battery unable to do so, and in this case it is 
proposed to build a completely new set of ovens. 
This will bring the number of Welsh ovens to over 
one thousand. With regard to coke and benzol 
production, the output in the first year of the 
War was about 8,000 tons and 7,000 gallons a 
month respectively. In 1918 these figures had 
risen approximately to 40,000 tons and 30,000 gal- 
lons. The most perfect of these by-product plants 
are to be seen at Coedely, Risca, Bargoed and 
Ebbw Vale. This great increase in the output 
of these two products was accompanied by the 
construction of numbers of blast furnaces, and in 
this way a supply of coke for France was ensured. 
During 1917 France alone obtained in one month 
almost as much coke as she obtained in a twelve- 
month before the War. In this achievement South 
Wales had a large share. 

NoBELs, Pembrey. — The chief centre in South 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Wales for the utilisation of the by-products was 
the explosive works of Messrs. Nobels at Pembrey, 
which was taken over as a Government Explosive 
Factory. The output reached such a magnitude 
that it exceeded the demands of the shell-filling 
factories and for a time work had to cease. This 
cessation enabled experiments to be made in the 
production of explosive material never before 
thought of and only demanded by the introduc- 
tion of more deadly war machines. Smoke shells 
and poison gas shells were filled with chemical 
products manufactured in South Wales. 



U 



The important part played by Welsh steam coal 
in the War cannot be exaggerated, but there were 
many other industries besides mining in which 
the enterprise and the imaginative genius of the 
Welsh national character were of great value. 

The Industries of South Wales. — Before the 
War the industries of South Wales were based 
solely upon the geographical advantages of assem- 
bling raw material at the edge of the coal field. 

76 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

The cheaply manufactured products were expor- 
ted to all parts of the world and competition with 
America and Germany was keen. The South 
Wales industries accordingly depended entirely 
upon the low cost of production of their essentially 
commercial products. The financial and transport 
restrictions which accompanied the outbreak of 
war threatened at first to cause much unemploy- 
ment and distress in the South Wales industrial 
world. Besides coal the industries of South Wales 
centre round iron and steel, tinplates, galvanised 
sheets, copper, spelter, nickel and lead, the silica 
brick manufacture and ship repairing. Situated 
in this district also is one of the largest weldless 
steel tube works in the United Kingdom. 

During the first year of the War, the Swansea 
area played an important part in the supply of 
steel tubes, gas bottles, copper and spelter for 
war services, and the sheet works were largely en- 
gaged upon material for the temporary buildings 
erected for the training of the New Army. It can- 
not, however, be said that the district had occasion 
to divert its ordinary manufactures into new 
channels to any considerable extent. WitJi the 

77 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

organisation of the Ministry of Munitions by Mr. 
Lloyd George, however, the position changed, and 
the whole district rapidly adjusted itself to the 
manufacture of war requirements. 

Mr. Lloyd George visited Wales and the imme- 
diate result was the establishment of a Munitions 
Committee, under the chairmanship of Colonel 
J. R. Wright. This committee at once organised 
local committees at Cardiff, Ebbw Vale, Newport, 
Swansea, and subsequently Llanelly. At the same 
time, under the guidance of Mr. F. W. Gilbertson 
and Mr. J. C. Davies, the steel works began to 
organise for the supply of shell steel and other 
special grades of steel which had not hitherto been 
manufactured in Wales. 

From July, 1915, the industrial effort of South 
Wales constantly and rapidly increased in volume 
and in variety. Mr. Lloyd George's enthusiasm 
was contagious. 

Iron and Steel Works. — In normal times the 
iron and steel industry in South Wales was divided 
into two main groups. The blast furnaces, Besse- 

78 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

mer shops, and rail mills, of the hill districts, 
together with the Cardiff Dowlais plate mill, and 
certain bar, rod and wire mills in Monmouthshire, 
formed one group, and the Siemens steel works, 
producing tinplate and sheet bars, together with 
the Port Talbot steel works and plate mills, com- 
prised the other. 

Eastern Group. — The chief plants of the first 
group were in the hands of the following firms :— 

Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds, Ltd. (at Dowlais, Cy- 
farthfa, Cardiff, Rogerstone and Cwmbran). 
Blaenavon Iron and Steel Co. 
J. C. Hill and Co., Ltd. (rolling mills). 
Lysaght's, Newport (sheet works). 
Ebbw Vale Coal, Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. 
Whitehead and Co. (rolling mills). 
Cordes (Dos Works), Ltd. (rolling mills). 

From the first all these firms found valuable 
uses for their products — rails, ship-plates, sections, 
wire and rods. At the Ebbw Vale Works there 

79 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

were important extensions, and arrangements were 
made for the production of steel from native ores 
on a very large scale. The open hearth steel plant 
of the Blaenavon Works was also enlarged, and 
certain extensions in connection with the blast 
furnaces and coke oven by-products were 
undertaken. 

The output of this eastern group of works was 
well maintained and formed an important contri- 
bution to the war material of the Allies, but apart 
from shell steel their products were substantially 
the same as in normal times. 

Cyfarthfa Redivivus. — Early in 1916 the Cy- 
farthfa rail mill was restarted by the Ministry of 
Munitions for the purpose of rolling the steel in- 
gots (produced in the western group of works) 
into shell steel billets for the French Government. 
This mill had been idle for many years and, when 
the Ministry's representative inspected it, rabbits 
were to be seen in the engine house. By February, 
1916, new boilers and reheating furnaces had been 
installed, and the mill started work with an out- 
put of 1,500 tons of shell steel billets weekly. Con- 
so 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

ditions, however, changed and the mill was utilised 
for rolling the surplus 12 in. and 9.2 in. H.E. 
castings from America into 18-pounder H.E. shell 
bars. The change of work affected the capacity 
of the mill, and the output was reduced. This con- 
version of surplus stores into material urgently 
needed involved work that could not have been 
undertaken in any other plant without upsetting 
the balance of operations. In 1917 two of the old 
blast furnaces at Cyfarthf a were restarted on native 
ores, the mining of which in Oxfordshire, North- 
amptonshire, and Lincolnshire had been energeti- 
cally developed by the Ministry of Munitions. 
These furnaces immediately produced weekly some 
1,400 tons of metal of the best possible quality 
for the manufacture of steel by the basic open 
hearth process. 

Lysaghts, NEWPOET."-At Newport Messrs. 
Lysaghts ingeniously adapted their steel sheet 
plant in many ways and undertook the casting and 
rolling of brass and zinc on a large scale. This 
change was due to the excess in the number of 
sheet mills necessary for the steel sheet require- 
ments of the War. 

81 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Western Group. — The western group of works 
in the iron and steel industry of South Wales com- 
prised the following firms : — 

Baldwins, Ltd. (large steel plants at Panteg, Lan- 
dore, Gowerton, and huge new works and 
plate mills at Port Talbot). 

Bryngwyn Steel Works. 

Cwmfelin Steel Works. 

F. W. Gilbertson & Co., Ltd. 

Llanelly Steel Works. 

Richard Thomas & Co., Ltd. 

Briton Ferry Steel Works (Albion). 

Bynea Steel Works. 

W. H. Edwards. 

Grovesend Steel Works. 

Monmouthshire Steel Co. 

Upper Forest Steel Works. 

Results of the highest importance were achieved 
by this group. Before the war their maximum 
capacity of output was 1,400,000 tons. During the 
two years 1916-17 this was increased by 400,000 
tons. Particularly noteworthy was the effort of the 
Port Talbot Steel Works (Messrs. Baldwins, Ltd.). 
Under the immediate direction of Col. Charles 

82 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

Wright and Mr. J. C. Davies, these works, which 
possessed the finest plate mill in the United King- 
dom, were rapidly adapted to the manufacture 
of all kinds of special war material, in particular 
shell steel in the largest sections up to 12 in. 
blooms, boiler plates, high tensile plates, rails, 
sections, and ship plates. The new open-hearth 
plant was further extended in 1917 by the addi- 
tion of two large basic furnaces, and a commence- 
ment was made and rapidly pushed forward in 
the construction, on the largest scale, of a self- 
contained steel plant on an adjoining site. This 
consisted of by-product coke ovens, blast furnaces, 
and open hearth plant with mixers and rolling 
mills.* 

Billets — Shell Steel. — Several of the plants 
in this group during the years 1914 and 1915 un- 
dertook the manufacture of billets in place of steel 
bars, and supplied the small section and wire mills 
of the United Kingdom. Formerly, these mills 



* Modernisations, enlargements and extensions were made 
at the following works also : Briton Ferry Co. (Albion Steel 
Works), Bynea Co., W. H. Edwards, W. Gilbertson & Co., 
Monmouthshire Steel Works, Richd. Thomas & Co., Ltd., 
and Baldwins, Ltd. (Panteg and Gowerton). 

83 

G2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

had to rely on imported German billets. Towards 
the end of the first year of the War the Port Tal- 
bot Co., Baldwins (Gowerton), and W. Gilbert- 
son & Co. commenced the manufacture of shell 
steel, and their effort's proved eminently success- 
ful. From the beginning the products of these 
three firms were free from all the defects which 
were associated with the manufacture of shell steel 
in other districts and had led to the view 
that its manufacture was beset with difficulties. 
Early in 1916 the western group of firms formed 
a committee under the chairmanship of Mr. F. W. 
Gilbertson in order to organise the weekly supply 
of 4,000 tons of shell and gaine steel for the French 
Government. Both in the matter of quality and 
quantity the excellent results obtained by the 
Briton Ferry, the Llanelly and the Cwmfelin 
Works were especially noteworthy. 

The Celtic Touch : Adaptability.— The results 
obtained by this group were a striking exemplifi- 
cation of the genius of the Welsh people. Before 
the War South Wales was a comparatively minor 
centre of the steel industry, but the great crisis 
of 1914 called forth all the latent energy and en- 

84 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

terprise of the Silurian. It was not long before 
steel of all grades was being produced in South 
Wales at a cost substantially lower than in any other 
district. From time to time fresh difficulties 
were encountered, due largely to the ever-changing 
conditions in the supply of raw materials. Rapid 
changes in the methods of production became es- 
sential, and the successful overcoming of the vari- 
ous obstacles was a marked feature of the South 
Wales area. At no time was there any decrease 
in the volume or deterioration in the quality of 
the steel produced. 

In the first years of the War the supply of 
hematite ore was greatly restricted owing to the 
ravages of German submarines. Scrap, however, 
was abundant, and the firms of the western group 
made a standard practice of producing steel with 
not more than 25 per cent, of pig iron. Some 
firms, notably the Briton Ferry Co., reduced this 
percentage to 15. At Messrs. Gilbert'son & Co.'s 
works, during the period of shortage, excellent 
shell steel was experimentally manufactured 
out of steel ttirnings alone. The success of these 
Welsh steel makers in producing steel containing 

So 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

such a low percentage of pig iron led the Ministry 
of Munitions to utilise the services of some of 
them in educating other districts in the economical 
use of hematite iron, a task which they accom- 
plished very successfully. At a later date, when 
the efforts of the Ministry of Munitions had resulted 
in a large increase in the supply of basic iron from 
native ore, the works of this group readjusted 
their methods to basic open hearth practice with 
complete success. 

The Basic Process. — The South Wales Steel 
makers of this particular group still further dis- 
tinguished themselves in the use of the basic pro- 
cess for the manufacture of high grade steel, and 
the experience which was gained in the value of 
basic open hearth steel will have a permanent 
bearing on the conditions of the industry in the 
future. The restricted supplies of hematite ore 
and Swedish pig iron made it necessary to use the 
resources of the United Kingdom in the manufac- 
ture of a large proportion of the low phosphorous 
steel needed for special engineering work. Messrs. 
Gilbertson had for many years supplied the Shef- 
field market with a substantial quantity of high 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

carbon low phosphorous steel made from British 
basic pig iron, and this firm, with the willing co- 
operation of their employees, abandoned the 
manufacture of sheet bars and concentrated all 
their efforts upon the production of special carbon 
and alloy steel. Messrs. Baldwins pursued a simi- 
lar course at their Gowerton Works, and the Bynea 
Co., the Cwmfelin Co., and the Monmouthshire 
Co. were very successful in the manufacture of 
high grade steel in basic open hearth furnaces. 

The very particular requirements of the British 
Mannesman Tube Works, which before the War 
were almost solely obtained from Germany, were 
rapidly met' in 1914 by Messrs. Baldwins and 
Messrs. Gilbertson & Co., with their basic open 
hearth steel. 

The importance of this effort and its influence 
upon the future of basic steel (for the manufac- 
ture of which British native ore resources are 
abundant) may be seen from the appended list 
of articles which, together with many more, were 
manufactured with the greatest success from 
South Wales basic steel : 



87 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Gas bottles and cylinders. 
Boiler plates. 
Files. 

Levins projectors. 
High tensile wire. 
Connecting rods. 
Gears. 

Rifle and machine-gun barrels. 
Ball and roller bearings. 
Fire-box plates and stays. 
Bright drawn bars. 
Electrical and aircraft sheets. 
Bullet proof and helmet sheets. 
Boiler tubes. 
Naval gun wire. 
Stokes guns. 
Recoil cylinders. 

Aeroplane engine stampings and forgings. 
Crank shafts. 
Rock drills. 
Tools. 
Axles. 
Tank parts. 

Case hardening plain and alloy steel. 
Railway, automobile and gun carriage 
springs. 

88 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

The Employees. — In striking contrast with the 
miners, the workers in the iron and steel industry 
of South Wales are more tolerant of their em- 
ployers, a fact which was emphasised in the report 
of the Commission on Industrial Unrest for South 
Wales and Monmouthshire. The workmen are 
mainly organised in the Iron and Steel Confedera- 
tion, which union cordially co-operated with the 
Employers' Organisation in avoiding strikes. The 
workmen were splendid in their willingness to 
adapt themselves to the changing conditions of 
manufacture, and for long periods, when the raw 
material sufficed, worked extra hours in the week. 
From every point of view the effort of this group 
was successful and forms a bright chapter in the 
industrial history of South Wales. 



Ill 



Steel and Galvanised Sheets. — The steel and 
galvanised sheet industry, mainly an exporting 
one, was severely hit by the restriction of shipping 
facilities and the ensuing shortage of raw materials. 
It's operations were reduced to some 30 or 40 per 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

cent, of normal, and were practically confined to 
the rolling of steel sheets for ti-ench covers, bombs, 
mines, of painted corrugated sheets for hutments, 
works, extensions, aerodromes, and of special 
sheets for aircraft and electrical industries. The 
employers and workpeople cheerfully submitted 
to the restriction of their trade and co-operated 
in making the best use of the plant that remained 
in operation. 



IV 



TiNPLATE. — Among the various British indus- 
tries which were dependent upon their export 
trade, none was more adversely affected by the 
outbreak of war than the thriving Welsh tinplate 
industry. During the first eighteen months of the 
War the dislocation in this trade was considerable, 
as the Government were suspicious of the ultimate 
destination of any tinplate which might be expor- 
ted to neutral countries. Thus the South Wales 
tinplate trade suffered not only from the shortage 
of tonnage, but also from the caution which the 
authorities had to exercise in the granting of ex- 

90 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

port licences. With the establishment of the 
Ministry of Munitions and its Priority Department, 
the situation was considerably eased. In 1917 a 
system of allocation in bulk to the various services 
and to the Allies came into successful operation. 
At the same time the definite allocation of steel 
to the industry and the placing of its distribution 
in the hands of the Area Steel Committee ensured 
the acquiescence of Labour in the necessary re- 
striction of output and promoted smooth working. 
The Workmen. — In spite of the complexity of 
its organisation the Welsh tinplate industry gave 
the Government but little trouble and cause for 
anxiety, and this was chiefly due to the admirable 
working of the Conciliation Board under the wise 
guidance of Mr. F. W. Gibbins, its Chairman, and 
Mr. Clement, its able and experienced Secretary. 
Many of the workmen were able to obtain employ- 
ment in other essential war industries, and out of 
22,000 male employees it is estimated that 8,000 
joined the colours. 

The restrictions which had to be imposed on this 
industry cut down its activity by 55 per cent., but 
tinplate is a product that is essential in modern 

91 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

warfare, and the following list shows the extent 
to which it was utilised. 

Mess tins. Trench helmets. 

Petrol tanks. Chemical goods. 

Oil cases. Electrical work. 

Aeroplanes. Shell cases. 

Cartridge cylinders. Food packing cases. 
Petrol cans. Anti-gas masks. 

Cotton goods (packing). 

In addition, almost all the sub-departments of 
the War Office, the Ministry of Munitions, and the 
Admiralty needed a supply in one form or another 
of this important product. 



Organisation. — ^The success of the iron and 
steel, tinplate and sheet industries of South Wales 
in meeting war requirements lay chiefly in 
excellent organisation. For nearly three years 
Mr. F. W. Gilbert son and Mr. J. C. Da vies, volun- 

92 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

tarily and unofficially, gave to the director of Steel 
Production at the Ministry of Munitions all the 
assistance they could in co-ordinating the indus- 
trial activities of South Wales. Their knowledge 
of the district was indeed invaluable. In January, 
1917, they were recognised as the local agents 
of the Steel Department. Their success in the 
work of distributing the available steel among the 
various industries contributed largely to the 
decision of the London authorities to form steel 
committees in the different areas. These two 
gentlemen, with Mr. T. E. Rogers as steel super- 
intendent and Mr. Clement as secretary, became 
the Steel Committee for South Wales and Mon- 
mouthshire. The harmonious relations which 
existed between the various interests that came 
under the control of the Steel Department were 
largely due to the efforts of this committee. 



VI 



Shells. — The committees formed for the erec- 
tion of National Shell Factories in South Wales 
were another example of remarkable efficiency. 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

At first their difficulties were greater than those of 
any other area, as apart from ship-repairing and 
the industries to which reference has been made 
there was practically no engineering industry in 
South Wales. The attempt to utilise old engine 
lathes and the existing machinery resources of the 
district was soon found to be impracticable and 
wasteful, so new plants were put down for the 
manufacture of shells. Messrs. Baldwins, in the 
Swansea area, and Messrs. Richard Thomas & Co., 
in the Llanelly area, placed commodious premises at 
the disposal of the Boards of Management. The 
record of all the National Shell Factories in South 
Wales was good. Swansea in 18 pounder and 4.5 
inch shells, and Llanelly in 6 inch shells, set an 
example of efficient production before the whole 
country, holding as they did a continuous 
record for low cost of production. Another 
firm which showed great enterprise was the 
Briton Ferry Engineering Works (Messrs. Taylor 
& Sons). They were the first in South Wales 
to manufacture shells, under the direction 
of Messrs. Armstrong, Whit worth & Co. In co- 
operation with the Swansea National Factory 
they were successful in producing a very large 
output. 

94 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 



VII 



Copper, Spelter, Nickel, Lead. — In the smelt- 
ing and manufacture of the principal non-ferrous 
metals for war materials South Wales played an 
important part. The efforts of the following firms 
were particularly noteworthy : — 

Vivians (Swansea and Port Talbot). 
William Foster & Co. 
English Crown Spelter Co. 
Swansea Vale Spelter Co. 
Cape Copper Co. 
Rio Tinto Co. 
Dillwyn & Co. 
Mond Nickel Co. 

Messrs. Vivians were remarkably successful in 
supplying the Admiralty with brass tubes and 
condenser plates, and during the War their output 
was more than doubled. In the manufacture of 
shell driving bands they also made an important 
contribution. Many of the spelter works, parti- 
cularly the Swansea Vale Co., increased their out- 

95 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

put, and by equipping themselves with roasting 
furnaces for the recovery of sulphur as sulphu- 
retted hydrogen put themselves in a position to 
use Australian concentrates in the future. 

The local engineering works, more especially 
the Glanmore Foundry, the Risca Steel Foundry, 
John Player & Sons, the Millbrook Engineering 
Co., Richard Nevill & Co., Thomas & Clement, 
and the Lower Forest Foundry, were successful in 
supplying the requirements of the manufacturing 
plants of the neighbouring steel tinplate and sub- 
sidiary works, and at the same time added to their 
production special products such as bombs, bomb 
sticks and shell parts. The various stamping 
works, such as the Welsh Tinplate & Metal Stamp- 
ing Co., did yeoman service in undertaking vaiu« 
able work of a very intricate nature. 

The supply of sulphuric acid for explosives, 
sheet pickling, and artificial manures was well 
maintained through the agency of the sulphuric 
works of the district. In many cases special con- 
centrating plant was laid down* 

96 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

VIII 

Ship Repairing. — The activities of the large 
shipbuilding yards on the Clyde and the Tyne dur- 
ing the War are common knowledge, but very 
little publicity has been given to the highly im- 
portant and vital work which was carried out in 
the South Wales ship repairing yards. Owing to 
the heavy losses inflicted by the German U-boats 
on British and neutral shipping it became impera- 
tive to keep existing vessels in constant active 
commission, and soon after the outbreak of war it 
was increasingly apparent to dry dock owners 
and ship repairing firms throughout the South 
Wales ports that as the war proceeded they would 
be called upon to cope with a vast influx of vessels 
requiring repairs, and that the large amount of 
repair work done in normal times at the ports of 
Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Antwerp would be 
diverted to this country. The ports of the north 
east coast and the yards and docks of the western 
ports were given over almost wholly to construc- 
tional work or to the repair of fighting craft, and 
consequently the South Wales ports were inun- 
dated with merchant vessels requiring repairs. 

97 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Ship repairing became as vital an industry as ship 
building and this fact was fully recognised by the 
Government. 

Growth of South Wales Firms. — To appre- 
ciate adequately the important war service ren- 
dered by the ship repairing industry of South 
Wales, a brief description of the conditions exist- 
ing prior to the war is necessary to show how the 
South Wales ports were able to undertake this 
task. The steadily increasing demand for Welsh 
coal for engine propulsion on sea and land had 
necessitated the employment of a vast amount of 
tonnage. It was its coal exporting trade which 
had given South Wales its value in the world of 
commerce. The clearance tonnage of vessels 
bound foreignwise from Cardiff v/as greater than 
that of any port in the world. The various docks 
at Cardiff, Barry, Penarth, Newport, and Port 
Talbot, vied with one another in giving rapid 
loading facilities. The steady increase in the 
number of vessels visiting these ports naturally 
led to the growth of the dry dock and ship repair- 
ing industries, and the gradual adoption by the 
?farious dry dock and ship repairing establish- 
es 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

ments of the most modern plant and machinery 
with a view to the efficient repairing of vessels 
in the shortest possible time. In this way South 
Wales became one of the largest ship repairing 
districts in the world, with a reputation for rapid 
despatch, skilful workmanship, and capable 
administration. 

Effect of the War. — The plans which had 
been made for increasing the dry dock accommo- 
dation at the various ports had to be shelved 
owing to the outbreak of war. Early in 1915 it 
became apparent that the dry dock accommoda- 
tion would be severely tested. There was a huge 
number of vessels requiring repairs, and the admin- 
istrative skill of managers was put to the test in 
coping with the situation. Their pre-war ex- 
perience, however, stood them in good stead. 
Competition between rival firms ceased, and 
the efforts of the engineering and ship re- 
pairing firms were co-ordinated. To add to 
their difficulties, there was not only the 
dearth of labour, but the scarcity of raw materials. 
Clever organisation and the goodwill of managers 
and men accomplished the impossible. 



h2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

In normal times the number of vessels repaired 
every year in the South Wales dry docks alone 
exceeded 2,000, with a gross tonnage of over 
6,000,000. These were ordinary cargo carriers. 
During the War the number of vessels dealt 
with was much greater, and in addition the 
work was of a totally different character. Large 
Admiralty transports were repaired, and des- 
troyers and other small fighting craft. A con- 
siderable proportion of the work in connection 
with the mounting of guns on oversea cargo 
carriers, the fitting of mining gear, and wire- 
less telegraph installations, the conversion of 
trading ships, the camouflaging of ships, and 
the fitting and repair of passenger liners, was 
done in South Wales ports. 

All this new type of work involved many 
changes. Clever engineering feats were carried 
out, machinery and plant were scrapped, and the 
most recent labour saving devices installed. The 
time spent by vessels in dry dock was reduced to 
a minimum. As soon as under water repairs were 
completed vessels were discharged from dry dock, 
and internal or above water repairs were finished in 

UK) 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

the wet dock. The old fashioned firms were pur- 
chased by the more enterprising ones. On one 
occasion a disused lock entrance was used as a dry 
dock. Workshop practice was reorganised and in 
many cases output was trebled. 

Government Control. — In October, 1915, all 
dry docks and ship repairing yards came under 
the aegis of the Government. Owing to the in- 
creased activity of the enemy submarines the 
Admiralty in 1917 appointed a Director of Ship 
Repairs, who was represented in the various dis- 
tricts by deputy directors with particular know- 
ledge and experience in ship repairing. Co-ordina- 
tion of effort was carried still further and in 
conjunction with private enterprise and initiative 
an immense amount of work was successfully 
accomplished. 

Labour and its Reward. — Not only did the 
managers of the various firms exhibit skill and 
enterprise, but the artisans and labourers con- 
nected with the South Wales ship repairing trade 
lent themselves with a will to their important 
tasks. Reorganisation and starthng changes in 

101 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

workshop practice necessitated interference with 
time honoured customs and habits. In spite of 
this the introduction of new systems was carried 
through without friction or disturbance. The 
thousands of workmen employed in the yards fully 
recognised the importance of the work which they 
were rendering. The majority of firms at New- 
port, Cardiff, Penarth, Barry, Port Talbot, Swan- 
sea and Milford Haven paid their employees 
liberally, and the increase of wages over pre-war 
rates in some cases was as much as 175 per cent. 

The part played by the ship repairing firms of 
South Wales in the frustration of the submarine 
menace was surely a great one. Underlying the 
efforts of both managerial and working staffs was 
the dominant belief that work of the highest im- 
portance was being rendered. This factor was to 
a large extent responsible for the great efforts made. 

The principal ship repairing firms of South 
Wales to which reference has been made in this 
section are : — 

The Cardiff Channel Dry Dock and Pontoon Co., 

Ltd., Cardiff, Barry and Newport. 
The Bute Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Cardiff. 

102 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

The Mercantile Pontoon Co., Ltd., Cardiff. 

The Mount Stuart Dry Dock and Engineering Co., 

Ltd., Cardiff. 
Hills Dry Dock and Engineering Co., Ltd., Cardiff. 
Elliott & Jeffery, Cardiff and Barry. 
Thos. Diamond & Co., Cardiff. 
John Rogers & Co., Cardiff. 
The Junction Dry Dock and Engineering Co., Ltd., 

Cardiff. 
Harris Brothers & Co., Ltd., Swansea. 
The Penarth Pontoon and Slipway Co., Ltd., 

Penarth. 
The Barry Graving Dock and Engineering Co., 

Ltd., Barry. 
C. H. Bailey, Tyne Engineering and Ship Repairing 

Works, Newport, Mon. and Barry Docks. 
John Shearman & Co., Cardiff and Barry. 
The Tredegar Dry Dock and Engineering Co., Ltd., 

Newport. 
Mordey, Carney & Co., Ltd., Newport. 
The Port Talbot Dry Dock and Engineering Co., 

Ltd., Swansea. 
The Ocean Dry Dock Co., Ltd., Swansea. 
The Prince of Wales Dry Dock and Engineering 

Co., Ltd., Swansea. 

103 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 



IX 



Contribution. — Such was the industrial effort 
of South Wales. There was not a single indus- 
trial centre in the whole district which did not 
make some contribution to the material require- 
ments of the Allies. Coal was provided for the 
British and the Allied navies and for essential 
industries in Britain, France and Italy. Steel, 
iron, tinplate and brass were manufactured in 
large quantities. The corrugated sheets used 
as trench covers in France came chiefly from 
South Wales. Shells, shell parts and other 
ammunition were produced. The ships of 
the Allies were repaired in the ports of 
South Wales, It is impossible to enumerate the 
minor industries which all contributed their share. 
Suffice it to say that it is practically impossible to 
mention any article vital to the prosecution of 
modem warfare in the production of which 
South Wales did not play a part. The strain 
which all this industrial activity placed upon the 
railways and transport of the district has only to 
be mentioned to be realised, and it is to the last- 

104 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF SOUTH WALES 

ing credit of the railway officials and workers of 
the great railway centres and in particular of New- 
port — that funnel through which the greater pro- 
portion of the volume of traffic between England 
and Wales flows — that this great mass of traffic 
was dealt with so skilfully. Tribute must also be 
paid to the men and women workers who were 
responsible for the splendid output of material in 
the various industries, and finally to the services 
of those men supplied by South Wales industries 
to the Ministry of Munitions, of whom it is safe 
to say that not one of them failed to reflect credit 
on the Principality. 



For the information in this chapter the Editors are indebted 
to the following gentlemen : Sir Edgar Jones, Colonel W. C. 
Wright, C. Lambourne, Esq., F. W. Gilbertson, Esq., W. R. 
Lysaght, Esq., Finlay Gibson, Esq., William Graham, Esq., 
W. Clement, Esq., and W. H, Simmonds, Esq. 



105 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 



CHAPTER IV 



Industrial Efforts of North Wales 



National Shell Factories. — In August, 1915s, 
at the request of the Ministry of Munitions, a 
thorough investigation was made into the indus- 
trial resources of the counties of North Wales ,^ 
with a view to ascertaining to what extent existing 
machinery and plant was suitable for the manu- 
facture of munitions, and formulating a scheme 
for the establishment of national shell factories 
in the North Wales area. A representative com- 
mittee was formed and it was decided to make a 

109 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

tour of inspection in each county. In this way 
practically every workshop in the district was 
visited and such machinery as was found suitable 
for munition purposes was marked down for re- 
moval to the new factories. The manufacturers 
of North Wales displayed a true patriotic spirit 
and no obstacles were raised in connection with 
the proposed removals, which, of course, involved 
the crippling of the industries concerned. In 
almost every case consent was readily given. The 
next step was to secure suitable sites and premises 
for the new factories. A scheme was submitted 
to the Ministry of Munitions, with the result that 
within a very short period national shell factories 
were established at three centres, namely, Carnar- 
von (Vulcan Foundry), Portmadoc (Boston Lodge 
Works), and Wrexham (Electric Works). These 
factories were to concentrate on the manufacture 
of 18 pounder high explosive shells. On behalf 
of the Muiistry of Munitions a Board of Manage- 
ment was set up and the following gentlemen were 
selected as members : — W. Buckley, Esq., R. M. 
Greaves, Esq., E. S. Taylor, Esq., Evan R. 
Davies, Esq., T. Sauvage, Esq., and W. G. Pick- 
vance, Esq. 

110 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

Labour and Output. — With the erection of the 
factories a fresh difficulty was encountered in the 
shortage of labour. Skilled men were very scarce 
and there were but few engineers in the district. 
It was decided to enrol a large number of men 
and women as workers and to train them in the 
required processes. Rapid progress was made 
and a remarkable intelligence was evinced in ac- 
quiring a thorough knowledge of the various oper- 
ations involved and in the use of gauges and other 
necessary implements. Especially noteworthy 
is the fact that 80 per cent, of the operatives 
employed were women. The output of shells 
steadily increased and the Ministry of Munitions 
repeatedly expressed their satisfaction with the 
efforts of the North Wales area. In addition to 
high explosive shrapnel shells, 9.2 inch proof-shot, 
cast-iron bomb stems, adaptors, plugs, burster 
containers and aeroplane parts were manufactured 
in these factories. 

Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire. — In the 
course of time other munition factories were 
established in Denbighshire, Flintshire and 
Montgomeryshire. One of the most successful 

111 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

of these was the factory belonging to Powell Bros., 
Wrexham. This firm before the War was prac- 
tically exclusively engaged on the manufacture 
of agricultural machinery. The factory was en- 
tirely turned over to munitions, the buildings were 
enlarged and the number of employees rose from 
100 to 900. In this case also a large majority 
of the workers were women. Every week this 
factory manufactured 10,000 shells and was 
responsible for about one-fiftieth of the total 
supply of trench bombs. A very successful social 
and welfare scheme was also introduced by the 
head of the firm for the benefit of the workers. 

The Wrexham Town Electricity Works, which 
were converted by the Town Council into a 
national shell factory, have already been men- 
tioned. Several other firms in Denbighshire 
undertook the manufacture of shells, among them 
Messrs. Cud worth & Johnson and Messrs. Jenkin 
Davies & Co. In co-operation with Messrs. J. C. 
Edwards and Messrs. Richards of Trevor, Sir 
Watkin Williams Wynn started a shell factory at 
Wynstay, where many thousands of shells were 
made, chiefly by women's labour. At Acrefair 

112 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

(Messrs. Graesser, Ltd.) and other places in Flint- 
shire, considerable quantities of carbolic acid, 
picric acid and high explosives were manufac- 
tured. 

One of the most successful factories in North 
Wales was the Powysland Ordnance Works, 
Welshpool. Originally a four-storeyed flannel 
mill and afterwards purchased by a syndicate for 
the manufacture of leather goods, these works had 
been lying idle for some years. On the outbreak 
of war, Mr. J. H. Petersen, the present owner, 
who is a native of Denmark, purchased the 
buildings and equipped and organised them as a 
munition factory without any assistance, financial 
or otherwise, from the Government. The latest 
and most modern machinery was introduced for 
the manufacture of 6-inch high explosive 
shells and an up-to-date plant of automatic 
machines for the manufacture of fuse parts was 
installed. This factory gave employment to 500 
operatives who, with the exception of the charge 
hands, were recruited from the unskilled and semi- 
skilled w^orkers of the surrounding agricultural 
district. In pre-war days most of the male 

113 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

employees were agricultural labourers, coachmen, 
gardeners and game-keepers. 



Minerals. — ^The colliery districts of North 
Wales responded patriotically to every demand 
which was made on them, although, owing to the 
large number of miners who joined the Army, there 
was a natural decrease in the output from the 
Denbighshire and Flintshire pits. In the case of 
the iron and steel works of these two counties pro- 
gress was made on much the same lines as in 
South Wales, and as the result of strenuous efforts 
the output of iron and steel products was consider- 
ably increased. Side by side with the develop- 
ment of the industrial resources of North-east 
Wales there was investigation into the mineral 
wealth of the counties of Central and North Wales. 

The lead mining industry had never entirely 
died out in these counties, although the output 
from such mines as were still working had been 
steadily declining for the last fifty years. The War, 
however, emphasised the necessity of opening up 
still further the home resources of zinc ore, and as 

114 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

in the past these lead mines had only been 
worked for the sake of obtaining lead ore they 
abounded in plentiful supplies of the neglected 
zinc ore, and there is no doubt that if there had 
not been a scarcity of labour, and if the authorities 
had realised the enormous possibilities of the 
Welsh deposits of non-ferrous ores, large areas in 
Central and North Wales would have developed 
into important industrial centres. It was, how- 
ever, possible to maintain a small output, and 
5,157 tons of dressed lead and zinc ores were 
obtained in 1916 from the twenty-five productive 
mines of Wales. These were the Cwmystwyth 
and Lisburne group in Cardigan, the Halkyn and 
Rhosesmor group in Flint, and the famous Van 
Mine in Montgomery. Operations in the Halkyn 
district had been seriously hindered in recent 
years by the flooding of the mines, but the instal- 
lation of adequate pumping machinery and 
modern methods of drainage gave them a new 
lease of life, and it is estimated that these mines 
should in the future be capable of producing about 
9,000 tons of dressed lead and zinc ores per 
annum. In Montgomeryshire the owners of the 
Van Mine increased the capacity of their dressing 

115 

J2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

plant, and this will enable them to treat the large 
reserves already developed. 

The War also brought about the renewal of 
work in the Caecoch Pyrites Mine, Carnarvonshire, 
and there was an output of many thousand tons 
of pyrites suitable for the production of sulphur. 
In the case of copper ore it is hoped that one of 
the results of the War will be the development of 
the Mona and Parys Mine in Anglesey. In Car- 
narvonshire and Merionethshire the War also saw 
the opening up of the fields of manganese ore. 

The fact that only forty years ago there were 
over 260 mines in the county of Cardiganshire 
alone producing lead and zinc, and that to-day 
there are to be found scattered over the whole of 
Wales many hundreds of disused mines, gives rise 
to the hope that the value which has been placed 
on these mineral deposits by the activities of the 
War will not be neglected and lost sight of in the 
future. 

Stone, Brick and Slate. — Before the War 
North Wales, in particular Merionethshire, was an 

116 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

important centre for stone quarrying on a large 
scale, and during the War large quantities of 
road stone, quarried in some cases by German 
prisoners of war, were exported to France. In 
Flintshire several new quarries were started and 
large quantities of rock, containing a very high 
percentage of silica, were secured. This silicate 
was also obtained on a large scale from the Bwlch 
Gwyn and Gwersyllt Quarries in Denbighshire. 

The importance of this particular kind of rock 
was due to the formation of a new industry, the 
manufacture of silica bricks. These bricks were 
used for lining steel furnaces. For engineering pur- 
poses, for building, for chemical works and ship- 
building yards, the brick industry of Flintshire 
and Denbighshire proved invaluable to the Minis- 
try of Munitions, to the Admiralty, to the War 
Office, and to manufacturers of high explosives. 

The more famous slate industry of North Wales 
unfortunately suffered severely owing to the War. 
For some years previous the slate quarries of this 
area had been the victim of a wave of depression 

117 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

in the slate trade, due in no small measure to the 
substitution of tiles for slates for roofing purposes. 
In a subsequent chapter reference is made to the 
excellent work which was done by the committee 
of the American Relief Fund to relieve the still 
further dislocation which the war produced in this 
industry. At one time the output of slates prac- 
tically ceased owing to the entire cessation of 
demand. Eventually the position did improve^ 
though only slightly. This was due to the efforts 
of the secretary of the Relief Fund, Mr. Owain 
Evans. At the time of the erection of the military 
huts at Kinmel Park, Denbighshire, he was able 
to present a case to the War Office emphasising 
the value of slate as a roofing for the huts in pre- 
ference to wood. He pointed out that a slate roof 
was weatherproof and would add to the comfort 
of the huts ; that slates were at hand in the North 
Wales quarries, and finally that, as all wood had 
to be imported, the substitution of slate for wood 
roofing would save tonnage. The result of this 
plea was that the choice of slate or wood was in 
all future War Office contracts left to the option of 
the contractor. Inasmuch as Welsh slate has been 
proved by analysts to be the best in the world, it 

118 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

is legitimate to expect that, with the inevitable 
boom in the building trade, this important North 
Wales industry will once again recapture its former 
premier position. 



Welsh Textiles and Leather.— At the out- 
break of War the woollen mills of Wales were 
chiefly engaged on the production of all wool shirt- 
ings and flannel for the industrial population of 
South Wales. These products had won a well 
deserved reputation for durability, and conse- 
quently the Welsh textile mills were called upon 
to produce large quantities of these flannels for 
the Army and Navy. Socks, blankets, waistcoats, 
cardigans, helmets, scarves, haversacks, gloves, 
body belts, vests and flannel goods of all descrip- 
tions were produced in Wales for the British and 
Allied Governments. 

During the first two years of the War the per- 
centage of machinery employed on Government 
work rose steadily until the maximum of 60 per 
cent, was reached. In October, 1917, the authori- 
ties decided to requisition the whole flannel output 

119 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

of the principal mills in Wales and, from that date 
until the end of 1918, they were entirely engaged 
in the production of Government flannel. During 
the requisitioning period it was found that some 
of the small factories were unable to produce this 
standard flannel, so arrangements were made for 
these firms to manufacture a special Welsh standard 
Government flannel, which was accepted by the 
Royal Army Clothing Department. Early in 1917 
the Roumanian Government approved a sample of 
grey Welsh flannel and through the British 
Government ordered large quantities for their 
Army. This order was distributed over all the 
Welsh factories and kept them busily engaged for 
over six months. Owing to the increased prices of 
wool, the rise in the cost of production, and the 
limited supplies, the prices of Welsh flannel for 
the ordinary trade steadily rose, and with a view 
to protecting the interests of the mining popula- 
tion in South Wales, it was decided to introduce 
a standard civilian flannel at a controlled price, 
the production of such flannel to rank as Govern- 
ment work. Prices were not only fixed for the 
manufacturer but also for the wholesale and retail 
trade, both in the case of piece-cloth and made-up 

120 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

goods. This secured a supply of reliable all-wool 
garments at a very reasonable price. 

When the Government decided to purchase the 
British wool clip and afterwards the Australian 
clip, Wales was allowed to have her own district 
rationing committee, which distributed all supplies 
of wool, both for Government work and for civil 
trade. One important result of the War in the 
Welsh flannel trade was the formation of the Welsh 
Textile Manufacturers' Association in November, 
1917. The North Wales textile manufacturers had 
previously formed themselves into an association 
but it was decided to form one body to cover the 
whole of North and South Wales. This Associa- 
tion has done excellent work and is likely to prove 
itself still more useful in the development of the 
textile industry in North Wales. The following 
firms in Central Wales are among the more impor- 
tant ones which did Government work : — 

Jones, Evans & Co., Ltd., Newtown. 
Pryce, Jones, Ltd., Newtown. 
George, Francis & Kerr, Ltd., Llanidloes. 
R. George & Co., Ltd., Llanidloes. 
Morris & Son, Llanidloes. 

121 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Not only did Wales supply clothing for the Army 
and Navy, but her light leather industry, especially 
in Central Wales, met the needs of British aviators. 
In Montgomeryshire this industry was carried on 
by two firms, Lewis & Sons, Ltd., of Newtown, and 
T. Pryce Hammer, of Llanidloes. In normal times 
these firms produced roller leather for the cotton 
mills of Lancashire, but during the War they un- 
dertook the supply of jerkin leather for waistcoats 
and motor clothing. During 1917 and 1918 they 
manufactured about half a million squa,re feet of 
leather for jerkins, or in other words, they treated 
100,000 sheep skins. Jerkin leather for aviators' 
clothing was also manufactured in Denbighshire, 
at Wrexham and Llanrwst, and the same county 
supplied chrome tanned sole leather for the Army. 
In this way the industries in North Wales enabled 
the British soldier, sailor, and airman to maintain 
himself in warmth and bodily comfort amid the 
hardships of winter campaigns. 

Without exaggeration it may be affirmed that 
when the essentially rural and agricultural charac- 
ter of Central and North Wales is taken into 
account the people of these areas have no reason to 

122 



INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS OF NORTH WALES 

be anything but proud of their industrial contri- 
bution in the Great War. 



For the information contained in this chapter the Editors 
are indebted to the following gentlemen: Sir Edward Pryce 
Jones, Hugh Lewis, Esq., William Buckley, Esq., A. Seymour 
Jones, Esq., Professor O. T. Jones, Captain Maurice Cockerell,, 
Arthur L. Onslow, Esq., David Breese, Esq., J. H. Petersen^ 
Esq. 



123 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 



CHAPTER V 



Reconstruction Activity in Wales 



The Awakening. — Before the War there were 
men and women scattered over the various coun- 
ties of Wales who were fully alive to the needs of 
a thorough investigation into the conditions of 
urban and rural life in Wales and to the necessity 
of grappling with the great problems of national 
health and social discontent, but it may be safely 
said that the great mass of opinion throughout 
the Principality was indifferent to that develop- 
ment of the resources of Wales which is now being 

127 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

urged by men of all creeds and parties. With the 
progress of the War, however, a change became 
evident, and men and women in every Welsh 
county began to take a deep interest in the future 
well being, economic and social, of their country. 
The two organisations which played the most 
prominent part in the propaganda which led to 
this awakened interest were the Welsh Housmg 
and Development Association and the Welsh 
National Association for Reconstruction. 



The Welsh Housing and Development Asso- 
ciation. — The Welsh Housing and Development 
Association is a purely philanthropic, educational, 
and advisory body. It was formed by the amal- 
gamation of the Welsh Housing Association and 
the South Wales Garden City and Town Planning 
Association. It relies solely upon subscriptions 
and donations from sympathisers. The Associa- 
tion exists primarily for the propagation of sound 
principles of town planning and housing, the pro- 
motion of garden villages and small holdiug 
colonies, afforestation, and land reclamation, the 
development of Welsh agriculture and rural in- 

128 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

dustries, and the improvement of the conditions 
of rural life and labour. At the present time, in 
addition to a large number of individual members, 
the Association has over fifty organisations, re- 
presenting about 150,000 trade unionists, building 
trade employers and similar organisations. The 
South Wales Miners' Federation, the South Wales 
Building Trades' Federation and other important 
bodies are directly represented on its Council. 
During recent years the South Wales Branch, 
formerly known as the South Wales Garden Cities 
and Town Planning Association, has taken a lead 
ing part in arousing public opinion on behalf of 
town planning and housing reform. A North 
Wales Branch has also been doing good work and 
branches in Central and West Wales are in process 
of formation. The Association has been much 
consulted by architects, builders, local authorities, 
officials of Government Departments and other 
persons and bodies interested in the questions of 
Welsh housing and development, and lectures on 
these questions have been delivered without any 
kind of fee or payment all over Wales. In addition, 
the Association runs a newspaper publicity bureau 
and a publishing department. 

129 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Its Activities. — For some time, and especially 
during 1918, the Association has devoted itself to 
post-war reconstruction work and has given con- 
sideration to the question of providing work for 
discharged soldiers and sailors, and to the housing 
and employment of those disabled in the War. It 
has published a number of books and pamphlets 
containing information and guidance for architects, 
builders, local authorities and others, in the pre- 
paration of town planning and housing schemes, 
and dealing with the importance of developing 
agriculture, afforestation and rural industries in 
Wales. 

Town Planning. — Local authorities have been 
urged to prepare without delay town planning and 
road reconstruction schemes. Lectures and con- 
ferences have been held and numerous articles 
published from time to time in local newspapers. 
Members and officials of local authorities have been 
interviewed and m many cases deputations have 
waited on the authorities concerned. The Associa- 
tion has also advised public officials on town plan- 
ning and housing matters, and has organised a 
movement for a standing conference of representa- 

130 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

lives of South Wales local authorities to consider 
the town planning and housing needs of South 
Wales. Special researches have been made in con- 
nection with questions on town planning, the 
reform of bye-laws, and methods of estate develop- 
ment in the South Wales valleys, with a view to 
recommending economies in the development of 
building sites and in the erection of dwellings. 
Exhaustive reports on these subjects have been 
prepared and in particular a very illuminating one 
on bye-law reform in hillside areas. 

Housing. — Similar work has been done in regard 
to estate development and housing. Local authori- 
ties, companies and individuals have been urged to 
prepare schemes particularly during the period of 
the War in readiness for the period of building 
following demobilisation. Before the War there 
was a shortage of 50,000 houses in the Principality 
and during the War this shortage increased at the 
rate of 5,000 per annum. As a result of the Associa- 
tion's activities numerous local authorities and 
other agencies prepared schemes for house build- 
ing. In connection with this problem the women's 
point of view was not forgotten and an exhaustive 

131 

k2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

inquiry into the improvement of cottage planning 
was made, in which the views of some thousands 
of women were ascertained and incorporated in a 
report. It was under the auspices of this Associa- 
tion that a series of cottage planning competitions 
were arranged in connection with the Neath 
National Eisteddfod of 1918. The Association has 
kept in touch with the various Gk)vemment 
Departments interested in housing and town plan- 
ning matters and is represented on the National 
Housing and Town Planning Council. 

Rural Regeneration. — Through the medium 
of meetings and publications the Association has 
actively advocated the need for rural reconstruc- 
tion, and at the present time purposes conducting 
a thorough investigation into rural conditions 
throughout Wales, with the intention of formulat- 
ing proposals and schemes for the improvement of 
rural economic conditions and for the brightening 
of rural life. In promoting the establishment in 
Wales of a Small Holdings Colony for Discharged 
Sailors and Soldiers under the auspices of the 
Board of Agriculture the Association took an active 
part. Its memorandum on agricultural reconstruc- 

132 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

tion greatly influenced public opinion throughout 
Wales, and may be fairly said to have been one of 
the chief influences which moved the Government 
to provide a farm colony at Pembrey, in Carmar- 
thenshire. In addition to its many activities on 
behalf of agricultural reform, carried on through 
the medium of lectures and press communications, 
the Association has arranged with the Welsh 
County Coimcils for a series of rural housing 
exhibitions and conferences. 

Afforestation. — The Association has interested 
itself in the reclamation of waste lands in Wales 
by means of schemes of afforestation. Some 
thousands of acres of colliery and works refuse tips 
in the coalfield, now hideous blots on the land- 
scape, are believed to be capable of reclamation 
by tree planting. A non-profit making forestry 
society has been formed for the purpose of plant- 
ing old works and colliery tips and other waste 
places. As has been demonstrated at Aberdare 
and Mountain Ash pitwood can be grown on such 
tips. Incidentally it is hoped that in this way 
some work may be provided for demobilised 
soldiers. Steps have also been taken urging on the 

133 



WALES : ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Government and local authorities the importance 
of making provision for the replanting on a large 
scale of the areas denuded of timber by war time 
requirements. 

Inshore Fisheries. — Another scheme in which 
the Association is interested is the development of 
the inshore fisheries of Wales. Expert advice on 
the subject has been taken and there is reason to 
believe that the shell fish resources of Cardigan 
Bay and other home waters can be immensely 
increased, while the river and lake fisheries are 
also capable of considerable improvement. 
Several valuable suggestions for the proper organi- 
sation of the fisheries have been received. The 
Association has under consideration proposals for 
thfi establishment of sea beds for mussels and other 
shell-fish, and the proper marketing of the fish. 

Water Resources, Road Transport and Sur- 
veys. — Attention has also been paid to the need 
for conserving the water resources of the Princi- 
pality and for utilising the vast amount of power 
now running waste for the generation of elec- 
tricity. It is believed that the provision and dis- 

134 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

tribution of a cheap supply of electricity through- 
out rural areas will have an important influence 
on the development of agriculture and rural indus- 
tries generally. Agricultural progress depends 
very largely on transport and road and transport 
facilities in rural Wales are of a very inadequate 
and unsatisfactory nature. New roads are re- 
quired and existing roads need to be improved, 
while the provision of road motors or light rail- 
ways is a, matter of urgent importance. Another 
urgent necessity is a geological survey of Wales, 
in view of the considerable source of wealth in its 
mineral deposits, ferrous and non-ferrous. 



War Activities. — The following is a summary 
of the activities of this remarkable Association 
during the War : — 



1914. — Meetings, 

Seventy-five meetings were addressed, 
together with a large number of lectures, under 
the auspices of Working Men's Clubs of 
various political denominations. 

1S5 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

During the year, in co-operation with the 
National Housing and Townplanning Council 
and the Welsh Housing Association, confer- 
ences of local authorities were held at New- 
port, Llanelly and Cardiff. 



Press Publicity. 

During 1914 about 150 contributions in the 
form of letters and articles dealing with the 
various aspects of the work of the Association 
were published in the leading South Wales 
papers. 



Advisory Work, 

The Association received numerous requests 
for various forms of assistance from various 
quarters, some as far distant as Lancashire 
and Durham. The whole of these requests 
were dealt with satisfactorily and much assist- 
ance was given in the preparation of Local 
Government Board enquiries. 

136 



HECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

During the year several interviews were 
held between the Secretary and local authori- 
ties in areas where housing or townplanning 
action was deemed necessary. 



Investigations and Reports, 

An extensive survey of the housing condi- 
tions in Wales was carried out and the reports 
of the housing needs of South Wales were sub- 
mitted to the Local Government Board. Re- 
ports were also published on Welsh housing 
schemes, bye-law reforms, etc. 

Pithead Baths. 

A Conference was held at Trealaw under the 
joint auspices of the Association and the 
Rhondda District of the South Wales Miners' 
Associalion. 

A number of lantern lectures on the subject 
were given throughout South Wales and 
numerous articles and lectures were published 
in different papers. 

137 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

1915. 

This was a repetition of 1914, with the excep- 
tion of the following additions : publication 
of report upon Welsh housing schemes and 
what townplanning means; inquiry into the 
cost of building materials and deputations to 
fifteen local authorities. 

1918. 

This year the Association promoted a com- 
petition of designs for Agricultural Labourers' 
Cottages and living-in-quarters at the 
National Eisteddfod, Neath. Prizes to the 
amount of £170 were given. 

The Association has held a series of Exhibi- 
tions of these plans throughout the counties of 
North and South Wales, at Llangefni 
(Anglesey), Bangor, Welshpool, Aberystwyth, 
Llanelly, Pembroke, Swansea and Aber- 
gavenny. It is intended to publish these 
plans in book form. 

The remarkable success which has attended the 
efforts of the Welsh Housing and Development 
Association would have been impossible if it had 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

not been for the enthusiasm and energy of its 
secretary, Mr. Edgar L. Chappell. 



Building Operations During the War. — Very 
little building was carried out in Wales during 
the War. Such building as was undertaken was 
carried out by Public Utility Societies. 

The Welsh Townplanning and Housing Trust, 
Ltd., 32, Park Place, Cardiff, have erected houses 
in Barry, Wrexham, Llanidloes, and Burry Port, 
the nmnber built being about 400. The Society 
has several large schemes in contemplation. 

The Welsh Garden Cities, Ltd., have built about 
200 houses during the last four years, and have 
various schemes in preparation. 

The Government has erected a number of houses 
at Chepstow and several local authorities have 
plans prepared. 

The W^elsh National Association for Recon- 
struction. — This body is comparatively young. 
The South Wales branch was formed in the 

139 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

autumn of 1917 and the North Wales branch in 
January, 1918. Accordingly its work as yet 
is little known. The aim of this Associar 
tion is to investigate problems of reconstruc- 
tion and frame proposals for dealing with 
them. It also aims at rousing a greater 
realisation among all sections of the community 
of the duties of citizenship. The South Wales 
branch has held conferences which have considered 
the report of the Commission on Industrial Unrest 
in South Wales, the report of the Whitley Com- 
mittee on the relations between employers and 
employees, the project of a Ministry of Health, the 
Education Bill, and the provision of teaching in 
citizenship. Two sub-committees have been ap- 
pointed, one to enquire into the reorganisation 
of the public services in Wales, in view especially 
of the greater measure of automony which it is 
hoped will be conferred on the Principality, and 
the other to examine the use, opportunities and 
conditions of leisure in the urban centres of the 
coalfield. A considerable mass of interesting 
social information has been collected. In addi- 
tion to these two enquiries, the Branch has been 
able to render assistance in the collection of 

140 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

materials for a Government Inquiry into the cost 
of living in urban areas. One of the last appear- 
ances of the late Lord Rhondda in Cardiff was on 
the occasion of a meeting convened by this Branch 
to discuss the new Ministry of Health. Addresses 
have also been delivered by officers of the Associa- 
tion in various centres of South Wales. 

The North Wales branch has been considering 
the question of land and small holdings for dis- 
charged soldiers, and the conversion of water 
power into electricity for the rural industries of 
North Wales. A sub-committee has also been 
collecting information as to the conditions of social 
intercourse and recreation in villages and small 
towns. 

Welsh Mining Townships. — Although much 
good work has been done by these two Associar 
tions much still remains to be done. There are 
many of the rural and smaller urban local 
authorities who are not awake to the urgency 
and gravity of the problem of reconstruction. 
Every patriot who has the true interest of his 
country at heart' must realise that the conditions 

141 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

of life in the rural and industrial districts are 
a menace to the health and social well being of the 
Principality. One has only to visit the valleys 
of the South Wales coalfield to realise the appal- 
ling environment in which the future generation 
of Wales is being brought up. Living all day in 
an atmosphere of industrial dirt and coal-dust with 
but little opportunity for recreation other than the 
streets afford, spending their day in the heart of 
valleys where the sunlight seldom penetrates, 
these children of industrial Wales are handicapped 
from the day of their birth. Townplanning in 
hillside districts is a special problem, but in the 
past no attempt has been made to develop towns 
in conformity with the physical configuration of 
the valleys. It has been forgotten that the sun 
cannot shine through hills, and even the light from 
the opposite side of the valley has often been 
excluded by the erection of houses on the opposite 
side of the street. For example, houses of narrow 
frontages with black projections have been re- 
peatedly built on the upper sides of hillside roads, 
so that light and a free circulation of air around and 
through the dwellings have been rendered impos- 
sible, while access to the garden has to be obtained 

142 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

by climbing up long and steep flights of steps. 
Roads have often been run straight up hill at 
difficult gradients and during the rainy season are 
frequently converted into mountain streams. No 
provision has been made for direct and easy access 
from one part of the village to another. Public 
health has been completely disregarded and dwell- 
ings have been crowded on the land — sometimes 
as many as forty or fifty per acre. The constant 
repetition of cottages of the same type in rows, 
including sometimes scores of dwellings, has a 
most depressing effect on the mind of the passer- 
by. In the case of many of the cottages the 
sanitary arrangements are very primitive, and hot 
and cold water services, baths, washing coppers 
and labour saving facilities are deplorably absent. 

Not only are the streets in these mining villages 
ugly and repulsive, they are also grossly insani- 
tary. In some of the older villages especially, 
the roads have never been properly made, and 
access to the houses is obtained along approaches 
consisting in wet weather of pools of slush and 
water, strewn with domestic garbage. Owing to 
the lack of proper drainage facilities, and a proper 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

system of refuse collection, the tenants have no 
option but to deposit refuse and to drain house- 
hold slops into the front road or back lane on 
which their cottages abut. Further, the dirt en- 
gendered by colliery operations adds much to the 
undesirable appearance of Welsh mining town- 
ships. The collieries are not infrequently situated 
in the middle of the townships and surrounded by 
buildings, and the untidiness of the surface 
arrangements and the smoke and dust emitted 
from chimney stacks, screens, and tips do not 
favour cleanliness. That all this can be prevented 
has been demonstrated by the installation of suit- 
able appliances at some of the more progressive 
collieries. Another painful eyesore is the murky 
and forbidding appearance of the rivers, with their 
banks defiled with black mud, which run through 
the valleys of the coalfield. This pollution could 
be prevented by the introduction of filter beds or 
settling ponds. Perhaps the most disfiguring 
features of the mining districts are the huge refuse 
tips, unnecessary monuments to industrialism, 
which have been piled up near the collieries. 

Housing Conditions in Rural Districts. — It 

144 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

is a well known fact that tuberculosis is very rifa 
in the rural districts in Wales. There are scores 
of village cemeteries where the wiping out of whole 
families is recorded on a series of tombstones. Life 
in the country ought to be healthy, judged by 
recognised standards, but here again housing con- 
ditions are largely responsible for the prevalence 
of what is known as " decline." 

The type of cottage known as ** Celtic " can be 
seen in every county in Wales. These are in reality 
one-roomed cottages. A light partition generally 
divides the house into two rooms — ^kitchen and 
chamber — while in many cases a loft, reached by a 
ladder, is provided by means of boarding stretched 
across at the level of the eaves. The height of these 
lofts at the apex of the roof is sometimes less than 
six feet, while the roof slopes down on each side to 
meet the floor. The majority are provided with 
small windows or skylights which very often do 
not open. The walls of these cottages are some- 
times very solid but are usually without founda- 
tions of proper cement, so that wallpaper will 
not always adhere to ihem. In some localities 
earth floors are fairly common. In very many of 

145 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

the houses there is no provision for the entrance 
of light and air except in the front. The windows 
are almost always too small and frequently will 
not open. There is a lack of proper sanitary 
accommodation, larders, pantries and storage 
rooms. The average cubicle contents of these 
houses is about 2,500 cubic feet, but some have 
only 1,500 cubic feet of air space. The condition 
of the two-storied cottages is very often as bad. 
Naturally the size of these cottages leads to over- 
crowding. Cases are known in which a man, his 
wife and seven children all sleep in the bedroom, 
where the ventilation is entirely inadequate. The 
bad housing conditions of rural Wales are one 
potent cause of the depopulation of the country- 
side. 

Another defect in the rural life of the Princi- 
pality is the inadequate accommodation provided 
for farm labourers. The men are almost invari- 
ably lodged over outhouses, sometimes over the 
stable, cowhouse, coachhouse or granary. While 
the establishment of the Agricultural Wages 
Boards has done much to improve the status of 
the farm labourer, much yet remains to be done. 

146 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

The monotonous life of the hamlets must be done 
away with and every incentive given to prevent 
the further exodus of the rural population to the 
large towns and cities. Rural and industrial re- 
construction must go hand in hand. 



The Development of Welsh Resources. — ^If 
Wales is to shoulder her fair proportion of the 
great burden of debt which has been incurred by 
the United Kingdom during the War every effort 
will have to be made to develop her as yet un- 
touched resources and to increase productivity. 
Not only must the health and housing of her 
citizens be placed on a sound basis but her agri- 
cultural and mineral resources must be developed 
to the full. Wales possesses a considerable source 
of wealth in its mineral resources, other than coal. 
Worked on modern lines there is no reason why her 
deposits of copper pyrites and galena (lead) and 
blende or black-jack (zinc), manganese and phos- 
phatic rock should not become profitable commer- 
cial investments, especially in view of the fact that 
a geological survey of Wales on the lines suggested 
by Professor O. T. Jones would reveal that Welsh 

147 

L2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

mineral deposits are far larger than have 
been imagined. Moreover, such a geological 
survey would enable the various deposits to be 
worked in a scientific and economical manner. 

Before the War it is an undeniable fact that 
the rural industries of Wales were steadily declin- 
ing. In many cases war requirements, however, 
caused a revival. If this period of prosperity is 
to continue it is essential that steps should be 
taken to utilise the great stores of water power 
available in Wales for the production of electrical 
energy. There is sufficient power at hand to 
supply all existing rural industries, while all houses 
in towns and villages, and even isolated dwellings, 
could be lighted and heated by electricity. This 
electrical power could also be used for purposes 
of transport and for agricultural operations, and 
there is no reason why the manufacture of ferti- 
lisers by the same agency should not prove a highly 
profitable industry, with the increase of intensive 
methods of cultivation. The immediate need is a 
survey of the water resources of Wales and the 
establishment of area water boards. 



RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN WALES 

The Editors are indebted for the information contained in 
this chapter to Edgar L. Chappell, Esq., Professor H. J. W. 
Hetherington, Captain Greville N. Irby, and Miss M. F. 
Rathbone. 

The address of the Welsh Housing and Development 
Association is 38, Charles Street, Cardiff, and of the Welsh 
National Association for Reconstruction, Peter Freeman, Esq., 
Rectory Road, Penarth. 



149 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 



CHAPTER VI 



Wales and the Disabled Soldieb 



War Pensions Committees. — In Wales as in 
England the Ministry of Pensions has entrusted 
the care of the disabled soldier to the local war 
pensions committees which have been formed in 
every county. It is to the honour of Wales that a 
model of what such a committee should be is to be 
found in the Denbighshire War Pensions Com- 
mittee, which has received the congratulations of 
the Central Authorities on the excellent way in 
which it has set to work. A large measure of the 

153 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

success of this committee has been due to the 
enthusiasm and hard work of its chairman, Mr. 
Alfred Seymour Jones, and its capable and ener- 
geiic secretary, Mr. G. G. Lerry. The Denbigh- 
shire War Pensions Committee possesses in addi- 
tion an excellent office staff of paid workers, who 
consist of experienced men and women. The staff 
interview every morning discharged men, whether 
disabled or not, and the wives, mothers and female 
dependents. The discharged men and their de- 
pendents are invited either personally or by a 
friendly letter to pay a call. Every discharged 
man at these interviews is made to feel that he is 
dealing with sympathetic friends who are really 
interested in his case. The test of a pensions 
committee comes not in the case of the 90 per cent, 
of the cases which are comparatively easy to deal 
with, but in the remaining 10 per cent, which present 
difficulties, and it is in the handling of this 
minority that the Denbighshire Committee has 
shown such ability. Orthopaedic cases are inter- 
viewed in a private room, while a stenographer 
takes down the man's story and all his replies to 
questions. He is given a comfortable seat and 
made to feel that he is talkmg to his best friend. 

154 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 

If this method of interviewing fails the interviewer 
falls back on the man's wife, his friends and his 
minister, in order to make the second interview a 
success. The splendid orthopaedic hospital, the 
Croesnewydd, at Wrexham, enables all these cases 
to receive any further operative treatment that 
may be necessary. In this connection it is well 
to note that it was a Denbighshire man, Sir Robert 
Jones, who was one of the leading medical men 
in the development of orthopaedic surgery. In 
dealing with neurasthenic cases this committee 
has again been remarkably successful. Every 
effort is made at the interview to induce the 
patient to face another medical board and it is 
carefully pointed out to him that it is not a mili- 
tary medical board but one composed of special- 
ists. The board meets at Berrington Auxiliary 
Military Hospital, to which place the men are 
motored voluntarily. Particulars of every case 
are sent beforehand to the Board in order to help 
the members in arriving at a correct diagnosis. 

These two examples give a good insight into the 
methods which this committee uses. No trouble 
or expense is spared. Emphasis is laid on per- 

155 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

sonal interviews in the case of each man and the 
lazy way of sending him forms filled with bewilder- 
ing questions is avoided. Tact and patience are 
never failing. It is the constant endeavour of the 
members of this committee to appreciate the 
psychology of the disabled man, which un- 
doubtedly accoimts for the success of their work. 



Employment fob the Disabled. — ^The task of 
finding employment for the disabled soldier has 
been tackled with great success by the North and 
South Wales Joint Disablement Committees. The 
North Wales Committee, the secretary of which 
is Mr. G. G. Lerry, has been particularly successful 
in training men in market gardening, in furniture 
and basket making, and in diamond cutting. 
Through the Welsh Townplanning and Housing 
Trust, Ltd., a training centre in market gardening 
has been established in Acton Park, near Wrex- 
ham Garden Village. Through the kindness of 
Mr. Bernard Oppenheimer the whole of the vege- 
table gardens and pleasure grounds in the park 
have been secured. There are also two large 
kitchen gardens at Little Acton and Plas Acton. 

156 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 

Since November, 1917, a large number of ex~ 
servicemen have been at work in the gardens under 
the tuition of expert instructors. The men not 
only receive training in the growing of every kind 
of fruit and vegetable but also in horticulture, pig, 
poultry and bee keeping. The course of training 
lasts as a rule for twelve months and in certain 
cases arrangements are made for the continuance 
of the course at Madryn Castle Farm School, Car- 
narvonshire. The men live either in the hostel at 
Pla^ Acton or in houses in the adjacent village, or 
in Wrexham. Board, lodgings and washing are all 
found for 17/6 per week, which leaves a balance 
of 10/- out of the minimum weekly allowance of 
27/6. Such men as need hospital treatment are 
attended free of charge at Croesnewydd Orthopaedic 
Hospital and their travelling expenses are also 
paid. During the period of tuition the neces- 
sary gardening tools, together with a pair of 
gardening boots, a pair of overalls, and an 
oilskin coat and a straw hat are provided. 
As the result of the excellent work which is 
being done at this centre disabled men are 
able at the end of their training to set up on their 
own as expert market gardeners or to obtain em- 

157 



WALES : ITS PART IN THE WAR 

ployment in a market garden or a private garden, 
and when the necessary capital is obtainable can 
become small holders by taking up twenty-five to 
fifty acres of land. 

At Trefnant, a small village in the Vale of Clwyd 
between Denbigh and St. Asaph, there has been 
inaugurated an enterprise which will probably 
play a large part in the rural economy of North 
Wales in the future. The scheme of finding em- 
ployment for the villagers in the winter evenings 
by providing them with training in the making of 
Welsh toys and furniture, which was started by 
Miss Mary Heaton in 1909, has been developed 
with a view to training disabled soldiers. In 
August, 1918, a hostel for disabled soldiers and 
sailors was opened by Mrs. Lloyd George. Ex- 
perienced instructors have been engaged and the 
men are trained in the making of furniture, 
modelled on old Welsh designs, and of baskets. 
There are toy making workshops, equipped with 
fret working and other machinery, which is largely 
used to supplement the hand workers. On the 
occasion of the opening of the hostel, Mrs. Lloyd 
George paid a tribute to the work of Miss Heaton 

158 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 

and to the excellence of the toys, which have a 
world wide sale. " I never go to an exhibition in 
London," said Mrs. Lloyd George, " without see- 
ing Miss Heaton there in her tall Welsh hat, busily 
selling her goods." 

The appended list of occupations in which em- 
ployment has been found for disabled soldiers 
shows the great efforts which the North Wales 
Committee have made. 



Denbighshire : — 

Market gardening : Wrexham Garden Village. 

Electrical wiring and fitting : Wrexham Corpor- 
ation Electricity Department. 

Repairs to gas and electrical plant : Colwyn Bay 
Urban District Council. 

Repair and maintenance of public lamps : Col- 
wyn Bay Urban District Council. 

Electrical wiring : Broughton Plas Power Col- 
liery Co. 

Blacksmithing : Messrs. Francis & Sons, Colwyn 
Bay. 

159 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Cabinet-making : Messrs. W. Aston & Sons, 
Johnstown. 

Clogging : Messrs. Fletcher, Wrexham. 

Coachpainting and wheel wrighting : Messrs .. 
Fletcher & Sons, Colwyn Bay. 

Painting and paper-hanging : Mr. E. Jones^ 
Wrexham. 

Toy-making : North Wales Toy Factory, Col- 
wj^ Bay. 

Toy making : Vale of Clwyd Toy Workshop. 

Electrical work : Messrs. H. D. Carter, Colwyn 
Bay. 

Clerical work : Education Offices, Ruthin. 

Watch repairing : Messrs. Butt & Co., Wrex- 
ham. 

Boot repairing : Messrs. Fletcher, Wrexham ;; 
Mr. W. Dodman, Wrexham. 

Inspectors of weights and measures : County 
Inspector, Wrexham. 

Flintshtre : — 

Automatic machine work : Phoenix Works^, 
Rhuddlan. 

Switchboard work : Rhyl Electricity Works. 

160 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 

Cable jointer and meter fixer : Rhyl Urban Dis- 
trict Council. 

Carnarvonshire : — 

Agriculture : Madryn Castle Farm School. 
Forestry ; Gwydyr Ucht, Rhydyeran, Penrhyn. 

The South Wales Committee. — ^Both the South 
Wales and the North Wales Committees have been 
very fortunate in securing the services of very able 
secretaries, who have not spared themselves in 
their work. The secretary of the South Wales 
Committee is Mr. S. Auckland. In this area 
training centres have been established in practi- 
cally all the large towns such as Cardiff, Swansea 
and Newport. Schemes of training of all kinds 
have been started, the period of tuition ranging 
from six to twelve months in the majority of cases. 
The possession of technical colleges and institutes 
by these three towns has considerably facih- 
tated the work of the committee. Other impor- 
tant centres are the Treforest School of Mines and 
the Green Farm, Ely. Large numbers of disabled 
soldiers have found employment in clerical work^ 

161 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

cinema operating, and tailoring. Many have also 
found situations as motor mechanics and switch- 
board and motor attendants. Among the most 
successful schemes has been the estabhshment of 
the market garden farm at Ely. A great measure 
of the success of this scheme is due to the efforts of 
Mr. P. R. Marrison, of the Welsh Townplanning 
and Housing Trust, Ltd. Through the Agency of 
the South Wales Committee several hundreds of 
disabled soldiers have been found employment in 
over thirty different trades. Furthermore, 
medical treatment has been provided for several 
hundreds of disabled soldiers at various hospitals 
in the Principality and the West of England. In 
connection with the traiuing of diamond cutters 
at Acton Park, Wrexham, a number of places were 
reserved for applicants to the South Wales Com- 
mittee. 

The King Edward Vn. Welsh National 
Memorial Association and the Welsh National 
Fund. — Splendid work has been done in dealing 
with the disabled soldier by the King Edward VII. 
Welsh National Memorial Association. This 
Association is the only authority ia Wdes which 

162 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 

has tackled the problem of the discharged tubercu- 
lous soldier. Over two thousand soldiers and 
sailors have passed through the hands of the Asso- 
ciation, of whom over sixteen hundred have 
received treatment in hospitals or sanatoria. The 
Association has also endeavoured to deal with the 
training of the tuberculous ex-soldier, with refer- 
ence to those cases in which a return to pre-war 
occupation would be detrimental to the complete 
restoration of health. 

Excellent work has also been done and is being 
done by the Welsh National Fimd for the welfare 
of sailors and soldiers of Wales and their depen- 
dents. The existing organisation was brought into 
being as the result of negotiations between the 
committee of the National Fimd for Welsh Troops, 
of which Mrs. Lloyd George is the Chairman, and 
the committee of the Welsh National Fund. It 
was felt that although allowances were made by 
the State to disabled men and their dependents, 
there were gaps in the State organisation which 
could be filled by a voluntary fund. At the same 
time the question of assisting the demobilised men 
in any future difficulty was considered to need 



m2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

some special provision. The Fund was organised 
on a wide basis and provided for grants not only 
to discharged men and their dependents but also 
to all men and women who had served in the 
War, overseas or upon the seas, whether suffering 
from any physical disability or not, the only limi- 
tation being Welsh nationality or residence in 
Wales, or in the case of soldiers without either of 
these qualifications, service in a Welsh regiment. 
No grant is made where an adequate amount can 
be obtained from the State. In apportioning its 
grants the Fund works through the local war 
pensions committee, the National Federation of 
Discharged Soldiers and Sailors, and the Comrades 
of the Great War. Many cases of real poverty 
have been dealt with. Both discharged men and 
men in training have been helped in meeting imf ore- 
seen extra expenses, such as the funeral expenses 
of a child or illness in the family. Grants have 
also been made to disabled soldiers who have 
imdergone schemes of training and require money 
to make a fresh start in life. In the summer of 
1918 an agreement was made with the King's Fund 
for Disabled Men, whereby complete co-operation 
was secured between the two organisations. 

164 



WALES AND THE DISABLED SOLDIER 

The Farm Colony for Wales. — The Govern- 
ment decision that Wales was entitled to one of 
the proposed farm colonies for ex-soldiers roused 
the Carmarthenshire Coimty Council to take steps 
to secure the establishment of the Welsh Colony 
within its borders. The success of the Council's 
efforts led to the establishment of the Pembrey 
Farm Colony. The area of the site is about 1,400 
acres and the soil is suitable for crops of all kinds. 
There is an additional area of 700 acres of salt 
marsh which could be reclaimed by a sea wall 
and which would then be worth from £40 to £50 
an acre. There is also a tract of about 1,000 acres 
of light sandy soil which could be utilised by 
fixing the sand with M arras grass and sitka spruce. 
Fine asparagus has been grown here and the soil 
would be admirably adapted for market gardens. 

The property is served by the Great Western 
Railway main line from London to Fishguard, 
which runs through the estate and is adjacent to 
a virgin anthracite coalfield. A rapidly increasing 
industrial population is within easy reach. The 
network of agricidtural co-operative societies 
which exists in the Coimty of Carmarthen will 

165 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

considerably help its development. In addition to 
its possibilities as a market garden centre for the 
needs of the populous adjacent villages, the basket 
making industry can be established, as the land 
is suitable for osier plantations. 

The district of Pembrey is typically Welsh in 
language and sentiment. The education of children 
is well provided for, elementary and secondary 
schools being close at hand. There is also a 
county organiser of agricultural education, a 
county instructress in dairy work, poultry keeping 
and rural domestic economy, whose services will 
be at the disposal of the colony. The colony is 
traversed by the main Llanelly and Kidwelly road 
and a good parish road runs eastwards, so that the 
majority of the fields are within easy reach of 
fine transport facilities. It is the hope of the 
Welsh authorities who have interested themselves 
in this scheme that this holding will eventually 
become a model farm colony. 

For the information in this chapter the Editors are indebted 
to G. G. Lerry, Esq., Alfred Seymour Jones, Esq., Alderman 
Darid Evans, H. E. K. Adams, Esq., Miss G. Jones, S. Auck- 
land, Esq., Miss Mary Heaton, P. R. Marrison, Esq., F. J. 
Alban, Esq. 

166 



WALES AND WAR SAVINGS 



CHAPTER Vn 



Wales and War Savings 



Both generosity and thrift, to be effective, must 
be organised. This is the lesson of the campaigns 
which have been carried out in Wales by the 
National War Savings Committee. 

Some of the Welsh counties are among those that 
have contributed most per head of the population ; 
some of the Welsh counties are among those that 
have contributed least per head of the population. 
It would be unfair to infer that because two or 

169 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

three counties in Wales have not contributed to the 
Government War funds as liberally as might have 
been expected there is any section of the Welsh 
people who have not responded to ihe Govern- 
ment's call for money. Wales is essentially a rural 
and agricultural country, and with the exception 
of Glamorganshire, Monmouthshire and parts of 
Flintshire, Denbighshire, and Carmarthenshire, the 
wealth of most of the counties is not great. For 
this reason it is all the more creditable that the 
county which has responded most generously is one 
which is practically devoid of any industries and 
is almost entirely agricultural in character, namely, 
Cardiganshire. In this county war savings cam- 
paigns were organised perhaps more thoroughly, 
and at any rate more effectively, than in any other 
county of a similar nature in the British Isles. 

During the period from its formation in the 
autumn of 1916 to September, 1918, the Cardigan- 
shire War Savings Committee through its Associa- 
tions were responsible for the investment of 
£616,534 in Government securities, and of this 
amount £455,458 was subscribed through the Ele- 
mentary Schools of the County, which averages 

170 



WALES AND WAR SAVINGS 

£4,338 per school. The total number of members 
of all the War Savmgs Associations in Cardigan- 
shire is 12,085, so that the contribution per mem- 
ber averages £51. This undoubtedly constitutes 
a record, not only for Wales but for the United 
Kingdom. When it is borne in mind that Car- 
diganshire is a county of villages — ^the great 
majority of the population is made up of small 
farmers and labourers^ — ^the significance of these 
figures is all the more wonderful. 

The success of the war savings movement 
in this county is undoubtedly due to the 
fact that the; joint secretaries of the county 
committee, Mr. David Thomas and Mr. 
Jenkin James, decided from the commence- 
ment to educate the county in the necessity and 
duty of investing in Government securities. The 
personal factor must largely explain why Car- 
diganshire has done so much better than the 
average county in England and Wales. Both the 
county secretaries are Cardiganshire men and 
speak the Cardiganshire dialect of the Welsh 
language — their mother tongue — and their names 
are household words throughout the cotmty. In 

171 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

the carrying out of their policy they realised that 
the natural centres for their educational programme 
were the elementary schools. Every school in the 
county was visited and at each one a war savings 
association was formed, the head teachers and 
their staffs forming the committee, and in every 
school special lessons were given on war savings. 
In the course of time the school committees were 
enlarged and the most influential men in every 
district were co-opted. The secretaries were able 
to imbue these committees with some of their own 
enthusiasm and by insisting on the necessity of a 
house-to-house canvass in every parish were able 
to claim that there was practically no home in 
the whole county to which a personal appeal had 
not been made. Another important factor was the 
personal influence of Mr. Thomas. As an inspector 
of the Board of Education for 25 years he had 
obtained a unique influence upon both present and 
past pupils, as well as over the teachers of the 
county. 

The majority of the schools in Cardiganshire 
are very small, with an average attendance of 
about 60 children. In the following table are 

172 



WALES AND WAR SAVINGS 

contained particulars of the efforts of eighteen of 
the schools — out of the 105 Elementary Schools of 
the County — which are specially worthy of 
mention : — 



No. of 

NAMBJ Members 

New Quay CI 325 

Llangoedmore C.E. 32 . 

Aberaeron CI 208 . 

Llanwenog C.E. 200 

New Court and Blaenau CI. 200 . 

Llangeitho CI 208 . 

Adpar CI 112 . 

Llandyssul CI 165 . 

Penlon CI 148 . 

Blaenporth C.E 144 . 

Pontrhydfendigaid and 

Strata Florida CI 248 . 

Pontgarreg CI 185 . 

Llanilar CI 185 . 

Llanwnen CI 85 . 

Llechryd CI 123 . 

Rhydypennau CI 176 

Glynarthen CI 176 . 

Aberbank C.E. 182 , 

178 



Total amt. 
Invested 

£36,097 
27,165 
12,786 
15,927 
11,819 
10,976 
10,533 
10,416 
9,232 
8,619 

8,491 
8,425 

8,372 
8,322 
7,742 
7,627 
7,159 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

The large majority of the members of the above 
mentioned Associations are farmers, farm-labourers 
and cottagers. The farmers of Cardiganshire are 
mostly tenant farmers and cannot by any stretch of 
the imagination be termed wealthy or rich. Work- 
ing on the land in much the same way as their 
servants or labourers they extract a bare existence 
from the none too fertile uplands of west Wales. 

The j>ersistence and enthusiasm of the members 
of the committees have been most praiseworthy, 
and all the obstacles inseparable from any organi- 
sation of this nature existing among a scattered 
rural population with meagre post oflfice facilities 
were overcome. 

The three Cardiganshire Boroughs also did 
remarkably well. Aberystwyth, with a population 
of 9,000, invested through the banks and the 
post office no less a sum than £1,818,951, an 
average of £200 per head. A sum of £682,448 
was subscribed during Tank Week in July, 1918, 
an average sum of £75 16s. 2d. per head of the 
population. Cardigan, with a population of 
3,578, has invested through War Savings 
Associations a sum of £128,410, while the work 

174 



WALES AND WAR SAVINGS 



done at Lampeter in the matter of investment in 
Government War securities deserves very special 
commendation. As much as £103,608 was invested 
at Lampeter during War Weapons' Week, held in 
July, 1918, the largest sum invested by any single 
person during that week being only £1,000. (The 
population of the Borough of Lampeter is 1,808 
and of the Union of Lampeter 5,368.) The appen- 
ded table shows how the noteworthy effort of Car- 
diganshire has been distributed among the various 
districts of the county : — 



No. 


of Members 


Total amt. 
invested in War 


Name 'of I^ocal 


to Sept. 28. 


SaviDgs Certificates 


Committee. 


1918. 


and War Bonds to 
Sept. 28th. 1918. 


Aberayron & District 


1,377 


... £68,434 


New Quay & District 


986 


61,324 


Aberystwyth Borough 


2,287 


66,469 


Aberystwyth Rural... 


1,950 


30,726 


Cardigan Borough ... 


641 


... 128,410 


Cardigan Rural 


892 


71,232 


Lampeter & District 


946 


66,556 


Llandyssul Parish ... 


630 


24,591 


Newcastle Emlyn R. 






District 


975 


48,316 
50,476 


Tregaron Union 


1,401 



175 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

It would be committing an injustice not to state 
that this example of patriotism was largely due 
to the unflagging efforts of the elementary school 
teachers throughout the county, who devoted all 
their spare time in the evenings, on Saturday 
afternoons, and during the vacation to the task of 
securing the successful working of the respective 
war savings associations to which they belonged. 

Owing to the fact that large sums of money 
were invested in War Loan and War Bonds 
through banks and post offices, it is not possible 
to ascertain the various amounts which were 
contributed by the Welsh counties, but with one or 
two possible exceptions it can be stated on the 
authority of the NaFional War Savings Committee 
that Wales did her fair share in supplying the 
Government with that money which was one of 
the keys to victory. 

In Glamorganshire local centre committees were 
established in 41 towns, and through their agency 
1,192 war savings associations were formed in 
the county. Of these 450 were connected with 
schools, over 220 with works and 160 with churches 

176 



WALES AND WAR SAVINGS 

and chapels. Specially noteworthy were the 
efforts put forth by Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr, 
Pontardulais, Maesteg, Penarth and Cowbridge. 
Cardiff, with a population of 170,000, invested 
£1,020,000 during Tank Week and £3,660,000 
during Business Man's Week, Swansea, with a 
population of 136,000, contributed £1,226,225 in 
one week alone, and Merthyr, with a population 
of 85,000, £1,029,877 in three days. In one 
week of March, 1918, £47,000 was invested by 
the 7,000 inhabitants of Pontardulais, and later 
in June the same town contributed in one 
week an additional sum of over £80,000. 
Maesteg (population 28,000) invested £235,000 in 
three days; Penarth (15,000) invested £142,000 
in one week, and Cowbridge, a small town of 2,500 
people, contributed £18,200 in one week. 

Another Welsh county which has done remark- 
ably well in the matter of war savings is Denbigh- 
shire. Both the eastern part of the county, which 
is industrial, and the western, which is agricul- 
tural, have responded equally well, and it is esti- 
mated that altogether the county has invested over 
£3,000,000 in Government securities. There are 

177 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

14 local committees and 160 war savings associa- 
tions. Between January, 1917, and April, 1918, 
the elementary schools of the county purchased 
25,000 War Savings Certificates, and at the 
same time these schools increased their contribu- 
tions to the ordinary school savings banks. Nine 
thousand school children are members of War 
Savings Associations or School Savings Banks. 

The Pentre Broughton Boys' School, near Wrex- 
ham, has a remarkable record for war activities 
of all kinds. The boys of this school have invested 
£2,042 in Government securities, namely £1,511 
in War Savings Certificates and £531 in War Loan 
and War Bonds. The deposits in the School 
Savings Bank increased from £35 in 1914 to £141 
in 1917. These boys also contributed £80 to 
various war charities, such as St. Dunstan's Hos-- 
pital, the '*Jack Cornwell" Fund, and the Soldiers' 
Plum Pudding Fund. Collections of waste material 
were also organised, and in this way 123 cwt. of 
old newspapers, 9,500 jam jars, and 18,000 bottles 
were collected. These materials realised over £80. 
This enthusiasm was due largely to the organis- 
ing ability of the Head Master, Mr. D. E. Rees, 

178 



WALES AND WAR SAVINGS 

who arranged for special lessons to be given to the 
boys on patriotism, thrift, and war savings. The 
boys were also instructed in poultry and goat 
keeping. 

Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the 
Denbighshire war savings campaigns was the 
investment by the Miners' Association of the funds 
of their Society in War Loan. 

The examples which have been given of the 
efforts of these three counties can be taken as 
typical of the whole of Wales. Though the magni- 
tude of their contributions has naturally given 
them more publicity than has fallen to the lot of 
other counties, yet it is true to say that through- 
out Wales there has been a thorough realisation 
of the need for financially supporting the Govern- 
ment. It is an undoubted fact that the rural 
if not the urban Welshman is conservative by 
nature and suspicious of innovation, and it is not 
so long ago when the W^elsh farmer preferred to 
receive the notes of a local bank with a local im- 
press, such as a red ox or a black cow, rather than 
the notes of the Bank of England. There can be 

179 

n2 



WALES : ITS PART IN THE WAR 

no doubt that the withdrawal of gold from circula- 
tion in the early days of the War was viewed with 
much misgiving by many Welshmen, and it was 
only such an organisation as the National War 
Savings Committee created which could appeal 
sufficiently to the patriotism of many a Welsh 
farmer and peasant to induce him to lend his 
secret savings, whether in stocking or in jug, under 
the pillow or up the chimney, to the Government. 



For the information in this chapter the Editors are indebted 
to David E. Thomas, Esq., Jenkin James, Esq., W. Roberts, 
Esq., D. E. Rees, Esq., Evan Hughes, Esq., Sir Thos. Hughes, 
and D. S. Roberts, Esq. 



180 



WAR CHARITIES 



CHAPTER Vin 



War Charities 



It is impossible to estimate the amount which 
the people of Wales contributed to the innumer- 
able funds which were raised in connection with 
the War. Owing to the shortage of paper the 
majority of charitable societies did not issue their 
usual detailed list of subscriptions, but inquiries 
from the various secretaries established the fact 
that Wales contributed her fair share in practi- 
cally every case. In this connection the following 
quotation from the reply of a secretary of a well 
known relief fund is illuminating as revealing an 
Englishman's point of view. "I remember Pro- 

183 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

fessor Huxley once saying that if a nation could 
produce a Faraday, a Davey or a Watt at a cost 
of £100,000, either one of them would be dirt 
cheap at the price. If Wales did nothing more in 
this War it has produced a man who will be the 
saviour of the world from German domination. 
All honour to Wales for producing Lloyd George." 
In estimating whatever financial contribution 
Wales may have made it has to be borne in mind 
that half its population lives in the south-east 
comer and that the greater part of the country 
is agricultural and rural in character. While it is 
not possible even to summarise the efforts which 
the various Welsh counties put forth on behalf 
of the most important funds, yet by examination 
of the activities of a small number of them in 
Wales some light can be thrown on the subject. 



The Belgian Refugees 

The Welsh nation was moved to the depths of 
its being at the outbreak of war by the plight of 
Belgium, and the need of one small nation called 
forth the generosity of the other. Almost every 

184 



WAR CHARITIES 

village in Wales made preparation for the hospita- 
ble entertainment and reception of Belgian 
refugees, and it is on record in the Government 
report of the committee appointed to inquire into 
the best means of assimilating these refugee 
workers, that the accommodation provided in 
Wales was many times in excess of what proved 
to be the actual requirements. It is estimated that 
there were altogether in the United Kingdom about 
200,000 refugees, and of this number Wales took 
her fair proportion. In seven of the Welsh coun- 
ties central committees were established, and in 
224 towns and villages local committees were set 
up. 

The most important centre was Cardiff, which 
became a kind of distributing bureau. The first 
refugees arrived on September 7th, 1914. The 
Lord Mayor at once formed a committee of public 
men, including representatives of religious bodies. 
The aid of the Press was invoked to give publicity 
to appeals for funds and hospitality. Over 1,400 
refugees passed through the hands of the Cardiff 
Central Committee. Of these about 500 stayed in 
Cardiff and the remainder were sent to various 

185 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

places in South Wales. A complete register was 
kept containing particulars about every refugee. 
In the matter of hospitality the various religious 
denominations vied with one another in taking 
empty houses and furnishing them. Collections 
were made among the members and guarantees, 
amounting sometimes to as much as £14 per week, 
were obtained for the upkeep of these homes. 

In Newport the same plan was followed. A 
number of large and small houses were taken and 
through the mediiun of a Mayor's Fund contribu- 
tions were received which produced a weekly 
income of £50. Among the other towns which 
gave hospitality on a large scale were Swansea, 
Porthcawl, Neath, Pontypridd, Aberystwyth, and 
Carmarthen. The county of Anglesey alone re- 
ceived three hundred refugees. As a general rule 
the method of organisation was the same every- 
where. Representative committees were established, 
houses were taken, and a guarantee fund inaugura- 
ted. Wherever it was possible and expedient every 
effort was made to find work for these destitute 
subjects of King Albert. In the course of time 
arrangements were made by which it became possi- 

186 



WAR CHARITIES 

ble for those Belgians who so desired to return to 
their native land. A large number found employ- 
ment in munition factories and in other industrial 
works, and gradually the work of the local com- 
mittees became less and less. Wales has every 
reason to be proud of her generous treatment of 
the Belgian refugees, and it should be placed on 
record that her religiousi institutions were not 
found wanting in this emergency. 



The Young Men's Christian Association 

Before the War the Young Men's Christian 
Association possessed organisations in most of the 
large towns in Wales. On the declaration of War, 
these were immediately placed at the disposal of 
the troops which were being mobilised. In con- 
nection with the annual summer training camps 
of the Territorials arrangements had been made 
for the provision of marquees at the various Welsh 
camps. When these troops were transferred to 
their War stations the Y.M.C.A. accompanied 
them, so that the Association was able to render 
immediate service in a number of centres. The 

187 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

resources of the existing Y.M.C.A. centres were 
soon taxed to the utmost and development on a 
large scale became imperative. Wherever there 
was any considerable number of troops encamped 
Y.M.C.A. workers and marquees were despatched. 

In the winter of 1914, when the men were billeted 
in towns, the Y.M.C.A. secured central buildings 
and rendered all possible service. At Newport, 
Cardiff, Barry, Swansea, Porthcawl, Port Talbot, 
Llanelly, Pembrey, Pembroke Dock, Tenby, 
Aberystwyth, Llandrindod Wells, Brecon, Aber- 
gavenny, Wrexham, Denbigh, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, 
Llandudno, Bangor, Carnarvon, Criccieth, 
Pwllheli, the local organisations did excellent 
work. As soon as it had been decided where the 
permanent camps and training centres were to be 
located, arrangements were made for the provision 
of huts for the use of the men. Some idea of the 
valuable services which the Welsh branch of the 
Y.M.C.A. rendered to the troops, English and 
Welsh, which from time to time were stationed in 
the Principality, may be gathered from the follow- 
ing imposing hst of huts which were established in 
Wales : — 

188 



WAR CHARITIES 

Cardiff Barracks, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff Skating 
Rink, Cardiff (Sophia Gardens), Cardiff Docks, 
Penarth, Laverock, Barry Dock, Buttrills (Barry), 
Barry Island, The Mumbles, Swansea, Pembroke 
Dock, Llanion Barracks, Bush Camp, Chapel Bay, 
East Blockhouse, Dale, West Blockhouse, Scoveston 
Beaumaris, Neyland, Tenby, Goodwick, Milton, 
Brecon, Crickhowell, Carmarthen, Aberystwyth, 
Llandrindod Wells, Wrexham, Kinmel Park (3), 
Prestatyn, Deganwy, Conway, Rhyl, Bangor, 
Carnarvon, Waenfawr (Carnarvon), Towyn, 
Penrhyn. 

From these forty-one centres the Y.M.C.A. 
workers kept in touch with the men on outpost 
duty or on lines of communication. In addition the 
Y.M.C.A. provided for the men on guard at 
the prisoners of war camps at Bwlch (Brecon), 
Port Talbot, Frongoch (Bala), and Dyffryn Aled. 
Good work also was done at the Canadian lumber- 
men's camp at Cwmyoy, Abergavenny. 

Interesting developments of the work on the 
social and welfare side arose in the provision of 
canteens for munition workers employed at Cardiff 

189 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

(National Shell Factory), Newport (Uskside 
Works), Ebbw Vale (Steel Works), Port Talbot 
(Baldwins' Steel Works) and Pembrey (Nobel's 
Explosive Works). Provision was also made for 
soldiers travelling by train and station huts were 
provided at all the important railway junctions, 
such as Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend, Carmarthen, 
Pembroke Dock, and Barry Dock. All troops arriv- 
ing at these stations were met and if necessary 
provided with sleeping accommodation for the 
night. At Bangor, owing to the cancellation of 
all Sunday trains, all men arriving on leave on 
that day were conveyed by car to their homes in 
Carnarvonshire and Anglesey. 

Considerable attention was paid to the wounded 
men located in Wales and in the large towns 
everything was done to give the men a hearty wel- 
come. In all the town centres employment 
bureaus were established and work was found for 
large numbers of discharged soldiers. 

Every hut provided the usual facilities for 
recreation, refreshment and correspondence. 
Definite efforts were made to encourage the men to 

190 



WAR CHARITIES 

make good use of their leisure time by providing 
them with an educational programme. Lecturers 
toured the huts, and local educational experts co- 
operated to this end. Concert parties made 
regular tours to the various areas. The various 
religious bodies placed their services at the disposal 
of the Y.M.C.A. and chaplains, clergymen and 
ministers of all denominations gave willing help in 
meeting the religious needs of the men. 

All the expenses of the work of the Y.M.C.A. in 
Wales during the four years of war were met by the 
contributions of the men and women of the Princi- 
pality, and at no time was it necessary to make any 
claim for financial assistance on the Y.M.C.A. 
headquarters in London. The total receipts from 
all sources from August, 1914, to June, 1918, 
amounted to over £170,000, exclusive of any sums 
remitted direct to the London headquarters. 

Without exaggeration it is true to say that the 
work of the Y.M.C.A. in Wales was completely 
successful and that the general policy of meeting 
the needs of the men stationed in the various areas 
was faithfully carried out. The majority of the 

191 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

troops stationed in Wales were men from England, 
Scotland and Ireland, the men from Wales being 
sent across the border. These Welsh troops were 
cared for by the Y.M.C.A. in the camps to which 
they were sent, and whilst Wales only had two 
camps of any considerable size, namely, Pembroke 
Dock and Kinmel Park, everything possible was 
done for the men located in the Principality of 
whatever nationality, whether English, Scotch, 
Irish or American. 



The Lloyd George American Relief Fund 

The Lloyd George American Relief Fund was a 
remarkable example of that intense nationalism 
which the Welshman carries with him wherever he 
goes. News came to the bands of Welsh settlers 
in the United States that the outbreak of War had 
caused much distress and unemployment in both 
North and South Wales. Immediate steps were 
taken by the two American- Welsh newspapers, 
" Y Drych " of Utica and '* The Welsh-American" 
of Pittsburg, to organise a campaign for raising 
money to meet this crisis in Wales. In this way 

192 



WAR CHARITIES 

over £5,000 was raised by Welsh societies, 
churches, universities and mining camps in all 
parts of the United States and Canada. The 
American subscribers entrusted their gift to the 
Right Hon. David Lloyd George, who called 
together a number of representative Welshmen to 
consider the best method of securing in accordance 
with the wishes of the donors the most effective 
utilisation of the funds for the benefit of the people 
of Wales. This conference, which was held in Car- 
narvon in February, 1915, decided to entrust the 
work to a committee and invited Mrs. Lloyd 
George, Sir Joseph Davies, of Cardiff, Mr. R. Silyn 
Roberts and Mr. J. Owain Evans to form the com- 
mittee. Working through the local distress 
committees which had been set up in every county, 
the committee decided that it would concentrate 
upon the relief of such persons as were in dis- 
tress and had no claim upon the various other 
relief organisations which were in existence. 

Before the Government decided to increase the 
old age pension the committee, between February 
and October, 1915, subsidised a certain number of 
old age pensioners in Wales. Naturally this was 

193 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

only done in a very small number of specially 
deserving eases, as a general scheme of subsidising 
the 42,000 Welsh old age pensioners would have 
absorbed all the funds available. Sums amounting 
to over £1,700 were distributed in sixty towns and 
villages of North and South Wales. Special care 
was taken that only deserving cases should obtain 
any benefit from the fund. In each class of claim, 
sickness, old age, unemployment and poverty, the 
majority of appeals came from North Wales. For 
some years prior to the outbreak of war the quarry 
industry had been suffering from a severe wave of 
depression, partly owing to the craze for roofing 
houses with tiles instead of slates. By the end of 
the year 1914 the demand for slates practically dis- 
appeared and the quarries were either closed or 
put on short time. This came as a final blow to a 
people who had already used up all their reserves. 

In the great industrial districts of South Wales, 
once the first war dislocation had passed, all indus- 
tries were carried on at top speed ; while in central 
and west Wales the demand for and the rise in 
value of all agricultural products reduced distress 
to a minimum. It was true that the army ab- 

194 



WAR CHARITIES 

sorbed a large percentage of the young men of 
north west Wales and that many girls were able to 
find work in munition factories, but the com- 
mittee's enquiries showed there were considerable 
numbers left who in duty to parents and relatives 
felt compelled to stay and share the poverty of 
their people. On these facts the committee 
decided to start a sock knitting industry for women 
in the slate quarrying districts of north Wales. 



The first workroom to be opened was at Blaenau 
Ffestiniog, where part of the market buildings, 
after necessary alterations, was converted into a 
workroom. Knitting was started on the 7th July, 
1915, with seven knitting machines, a number 
which was gradually increased up to the present 
equipment of twenty knitting machines, with 
finishing and winding machines. Coincident with 
the establishment of the workrooms, arrange- 
ments were made to provide employment for the 
older women in hand knitting in their homes. 
From the opening of the workrooms to the autumn 
of 1918, 68 girls were trained in the use of the 
machines, and over 100,000 pairs of socks were 

196 

o2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

made. The final output for that year was at the 
rate of 1,700 pairs per week. 

The next development was the organisation of 
workrooms on similar lines at Penygroes. The 
band room at Talysarn was converted into a 
workroom and was opened on the 15th September, 
1915, with six machines and five learners. It soon 
became necessary to secure larger premises. Up 
to the present over 46 girls have been trained. 
Over 100,000 pairs of socks have been made and 
the output now averages 1,600 pairs a week. In 
January, 1916, a workroom was established at 
Bethesda, where 50 girls have been trained. The 
total output from this workroom exceeds 70,000 
pairs of socks. 

These factories were not run on the usual busi- 
ness lines. The policy persistently kept in view 
was the relief of distress, and accordingly the girl 
workers were not chosen with a view to their capa- 
city for turning out so many dozen pairs of socks 
per week. Many of the girls were invalids and 
were unable to work more than two or three days 
a week. In 1918 a first class girl was able to earn 
over 30/- a week. The success of the enter- 

196 



WAR CHARITIES 

prise was largely due to the energy and enthu- 
siasm of the secretary, Mr. Owain Evans. By 
bringing these factories to the notice of the War 
Office he was able to secure contracts for the 
English Government and afterwards for the French 
and Belgian Governments. Nearly 300,000 pairs 
of socks were supplied to the Allies. It is worthy 
of mention that the War Office never had occasion 
to reject a single sock. In regard to organisation, 
Mr. Evans succeeded in obtaining the services of a 
highly experienced woman from the Midlands, who 
acted at first as instructor and afterwards as super- 
visor. He also secured the co-operation of Mr. 
Ralph Green, of Cardiff, whose technical knowledge 
proved of the greatest value in the negotiations 
for the purchase of yarn. The workrooms became 
practically self-supporting and it is hoped that this 
new local industry will be permanent. The prac- 
tical assistance that these workrooms afforded 
cannot be better exemplified than in the following 
instances of the circumstances of girls who were 
employed. 

Girl, aged 18. She kept house for her 
grandfather, an old age pensioner. 

197 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Girl, aged 16. She was one of a family of 
eight. The father, the sole support of his 
children, was a quarryman and earned about 
£4 10s. a month. 
« 

Girl, aged 24. Her mother was an invalid 
and her father a cripple. 

Publicity is not always deserved, but in the case 
of the American Relief Fund it can be said with 
sincerity that the example of the Welsh-American 
and the splendid work of the Committee which was 
appointed to control the disbursements are but 
typical of the spirit of service which was shown 
by public men and women throughout Wales dur- 
ing the four years of War. 



General 

Foremost among the funds to which Wales 
contributed on a large scale was the British Red 
Cross Society. During the first three years of War 
nearly £35,000 was raised for the funds of this 
society by the thirteen Welsh counties. In 

196 • 



WAR CHARITIES 

addition, gifts in kind to the ninety odd hospitals 
which were established in Wales amounted to over 
£12,000. The reports issued by the society show 
that the majority of these hospitals were run on 
thoroughly economical and satisfactory lines and 
in particular the Ystrad Isaf Hospital was highly 
commended by the authorities at headquarters. 
During the first three years of the War the Welsh 
hospitals received over 35,000 wounded soldiers. 

Besides the British Red Cross Society, Wales 
gave liberal support to the similar institutions con- 
nected with the French and Belgian troops. Large 
sums were also contributed to the relief funds for 
the Belgians, Serbians, Montenegrins, Poles, and 
the inhabitants of Palestine. The Polish Victims 
Relief Fund appealed particularly to the Roman 
Catholics of Wales. In connection with the 
Serbian Relief Fund a remarkable development 
took place under the inspiration of Captain W. H. 
Williams, of Newport. 

During the latter part of 1917 a small committee 
was formed at Cardiff for the purpose of establish- 
ing a hostel for the accommodation of nine Serbian 

199 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

boys. Further provision was afterwards made for 
tht education of exiled Serbian youths at the 
Welsh University Colleges of Aberystwyth, Bangor 
and Cardiff, and also at the technical schools of 
Newport. 

Of all the war charities on behalf of which Welsh- 
men made generous contributions it is nattiral 
that none appealed so much as the prisoners 
of war funds which were established in the various 
counties. It has been impossible to ascertain the 
exact amount which was raised for these funds 
but the amount can be gauged by the fact 
that Monmouthshire collected £9,000 for her 
prisoners of war and that in one year the people 
of Anglesey raised £650 for their county fund. 
When it is realised that further large sums of 
money were expended on comforts for the Welsh 
troops and that contributions were made to practi- 
cally all the multifarious war charities, such as 
the Lord Roberts Memorial Fund (over £6,000) 
and the "John Cornwell, V.C." National 
Memorial (over £200), it becomes obvious that 
Wales was not behindhand in responding not only 
verbally but in a very practical manner to the 

200 



WAR CHARITIES 

demands which the suffering and sacrifice of the 
War called into being. 



The Editors are indebted for the information contained in 
this chapter to Frank S. Higman, Esq., Basil Mayhew, Esq., 
F. C. Davies, Esq., Major Tudor Craig, H. A. Leggatt, Esq., 
Captain W. H. Williams, Miss Alma Tadema, C. Eustace 
Wilson, Esq., J. Owain Evans, Esq., W. O. Jones, Esq., F. 
Lyndon Cooper, Esq., A. Seymour Jones, Esq. 



201 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 



CHAPTER IX 



Agricultural Wales 



It is hard to realise that in the early middle 
ages Wales was a great com growing country and 
yet this fact has been indubitably established, not 
only by the actual statement of medieval chronicles 
and historical records, but by investigations which 
have been conducted by experts in recent years. 

Evidences of ploughed land have even been dis^ 
covered in uplands of an altitude at which it is 
scarcely conceivable that any cereals would yield 
even a scanty return. During the last hundred years 
Wales has come to be more and more regarded as 
a land where the growing of wheat is not a profit- 

205 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

able undertaking. Moreover, the humid climate 
of the greater part of the Principality favours grass 
farming and stock rearing. It is remarkable how 
easily, owing to the climatic conditions, pasture land 
is formed. One result of this is that greater effort 
is needed to convert this kind of land into arable 
than in districts where the climate is drier. The 
unsuitability of the greater part of the soil of 
Wales for the production of cereal crops was amply 
proved by the unfortunate result which attended 
the huge harvest of 1918, when all over the country 
there could be seen field after field of com rotting 
on the ground owing to the impossibility of garner- 
ing it in the wet weather. When the Government 
demanded that every county in Wales should in- 
crease its acreage of arable land many Welsh 
farmers undoubtedly considered the scheme as im- 
practicable for quite a considerable part of Wales. 

For some years previous to the outbreak of 
War Wales had become agriculturally a stock rear- 
ing country, and in the rural districts her wealth 
lay not so much in her crops of barley and oats and 
her root crops as in her flocks of mountain sheep, 
her herds of oxen and the tens of thousands of 

206 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

ponies which roamed her upland heights, to say 
nothing of the enormous number of pigs which 
were to be found in every Welsh county. Conse- 
quently it was felt by many that it would have 
been better for Welsh farmers to concentrate upon 
the lines which were most familiar to them and 
considered more suitable to the conditions of the 
country. This feeling of misgiving did not, how- 
ever, interfere to any great extent with the loyal 
carrying out of the Government programme as soon 
as it became law. 

The Welsh Contribution. — The method which 
was adopted in assigning quotas to the Welsh 
counties was to ascertain the mean between a 
maximum and a minimum estimate of the acreage 
in each county suitable for cultivation. The total 
quota for the Principality amounted to 682,000 
acres. The actual amount which was put under 
corn was 645,000 acres. This left a deficit of 
37,000 acres and at least half of this deficit can be 
accounted for by the failure of one county to toe 
the line. Three counties exceeded their quota by 
several hundreds of acres and three others were 
only a relatively small number of acres below. 

207 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

To appreciate the increase one must compare 
these figures with those for 1916. Compared with 
that year the 1918 figures show a total increase of 
335,000 acres of arable land. One result of this 
emphasis on the necessity for cereals was a very 
large decrease in the number of store cattle in the 
Principality, due largely to the curtailing of 
pasture land but also to the shortage of foodstuffs 
and the great demand in the home market. 

The general method and organisation of this 
agricultural campaign was practically the same 
in every county. The membership of the county 
executive committees, which were constituted 
by the Cultivation of Lands Order, 1917, was 
increased by the co-option of several gentlemen by 
the Board of Agriculture. These county War 
Agricultural Committees were necessarily large, 
owing to the great amount of work which was 
entrusted to them. Their duties were to undertake 
a survey of all the land and farms in the respective 
counties, to determine what land was suitable for 
the cultivation of cereal crops, and to see that the 
orders which were served on the farmers were 
strictly carried out. But their duties did not end 

20S 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

with this task. Under their control came the 
supply of tractor ploughs, of horses, and of the 
necessary labour, the business of procuring 
exemptions from military service for the men em- 
ployed on the farms, the supply of threshing drums 
where necessary and of such fertilisers as sulphate 
of ammonia, superphosphates, basic slag and lime 
and of seed wheat and seed potatoes. The follow- 
ing brief resume of the activities of the War Agri- 
cultural Committees of Glamorganshire, Denbigh- 
shire and Anglesey can be taken as typical for the 
whole of Wales. 

Glamorganshire, Denbighshire, and Angle- 
sey. — The Glamorganshire Agricultural Committee 
carried out its duties through eight sub-committees 
entitled respectively Labour, Tractor, Threshing, 
Supplies, Survey, German Prisoner Labour, Potato, 
Horticultural. The work of the Survey was car- 
ried out by thirteen district committees. Forty- 
four tractors were employed in the county and were 
in charge of sixty-three tractor drivers, ploughmen 
and mechanics. These tractors ploughed, cultiva- 
ted or harrowed 9,452 acres. Ninety-seven horses 
were supplied by the Government and accommo- 

209 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

dated at a central stable at Bridgend. In order 
to assist small holders lacking equipment, fourteen 
ploughing gangs, comprising ploughmen, teams 
of horses and the necessary implements were 
formed. The Food Production Department sup- 
plied twenty-seven ploughs, ten disc harrows, 
twenty sets of three-harrows, twenty com drills, 
forty-five binders and twenty rollers. Ploughing 
schools were established, at which 55 men were 
trained and about 600 soldiers were employed as 
agricultural labourers. The Supplies Committee 
distributed 620 tons of sulphate of ammonia, 1,200 
tons of superphosphates, 1,287 tons of basic slag 
and over 160,000 bushels of seed com. On the 
financial side of their work the Executive Com- 
mittee received splendid help from the County 
Accountant, Mr. A. W. Fox. The quota for 
Glamorganshire was 27,000 acres, and in spite of 
the industrial nature of this county this acreage 
was attained, in a large measure owing to the un- 
tiring efforts of the secretary, Mr. H. A. Pritchard. 

In the case of Denbighshire, the War Agricultural 
Committee consisted of twenty members, and in 
the various parts of the coimty twenty-four district 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

committees were formed. These district committees 
arranged meetings of farmers in their respective 
localities, at which addresses were given by mem- 
bers of the central committee. The quota assigned 
to Denbighshire for the 1918 season was an addi- 
tional 31,000 acres of arable land. Inspectors 
were appointed to make a complete survey of 
every holding of not less than five acres in the 
county. In order to carry out their various duties 
the central committee established five sub-com- 
mittees. Through the efforts of the Labour Sub- 
Committee large numbers of agricultural labourers 
were exempted from military service and about 500 
soldiers were obtained for work on the farms. The 
Machinery Sub-Committee organised and arranged 
tractor ploughing. Ten tractors and ploughs were 
obtained and ploughed up an area of 2,660 acres. 
This committee also dealt with the supply of com 
drills, ploughs, rollers, cultivators, harrows, carts 
and threshing machines. Under the control of the 
Supply Sub-Committee came the supply of ferti- 
lizers and seeds and the arrangements for the 
hiring of horse teams by the farmers. The 56 
horses which this Committee controlled were lent 
to farmers at 12s. per week per horse and its keep, 

«l 

p2 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

or alternatively were hired for ploughing land at the 
rate of 25s. per acre. In this connection over 1,000 
horse licences were issued by this Committee under 
the Sale of Horses Order, 1917. The Supply Com- 
mittee also arranged for the distribution of seed 
potatoes and facilities for potato spraying. The 
agricultural record of Denbighshire was in keeping 
with its activities in the other spheres of war time 
work and effort. 

In the days of Welsh independence the Isle of 
Anglesey, known in the vernacular as Sir Fon, had 
earned the title of "Mam Cymru" owing to the fact 
that its large supplies of com fed the people of 
North Wales, so it is only fitting that it should 
be mentioned in connection with the Welsh agri- 
cultural campaign. The quota for this county 
was an additional 18,000 acres of arable land. The 
amount of additional grassland actually ploughed 
was 18,460 acres. This result was largely due to 
the energy and enthusiasm of the chairman of the 
Anglesey War Agricultural Committee, Mr. 
William Edwards. The three tables appended show 
that the farmers of Anglesey were patriotic not 
only in word but in deed. 

212 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

Net Cultivable Area on Holdings of 10 acres 
and upwards. 



Area. 



District. Total 

acres. 

Aethwy 32,808 

Dwyran 15,016 

Twrcelyn 54,307 

Valley 52,207 



Totals. 154,338 



Waste 


Cultivable 


acres. 


acres. 


6,123 


26,684 


6,137 


8,879 


8,766 


45,541 


8,840 


43,367 


29,866 


124,471 



Final Return of 1918 Cultivation. 

Orders on Acres Orders on 

holdings voluntarily holdings 

District 10 acres ploughed between 5 

& upwards. in excess & 10 acres. 

of orders. 

Aethwy 10,178 201 405 

Dwyran 3,149 42 185 

Twrcelyn ... 16,913 248 634 

Valley 16,235 317 502 



Totals. 46,475 



808 



1,724 



213 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Total Acreage for 1918 Crops. 

Aethwy 10,784 

Dwyran 3,376 

Twrcelyn 17,795 

Valley 17,054 



49,009 



Timber Felling. — One great economic result of 
the War was the realisation of the dependence of 
the United Kingdom upon foreign countries for 
its supply of timber, and during the War the 
demand far exceeded the supply. All over Wales 
the countryside was denuded of its trees. The 
colheries had to be supplied with pit wood, the 
aircraft works with ashwood for aeroplanes, and 
military huts, munition works and the trenches in 
France still further increased the demand. In 
South Wales large areas were felled and in Central 
Wales the timber trade experienced a boom. In 
North Wales de-afforestation took place on an 
enormous scale. Felling operations were conducted 
on no less than 114 estates, and in this work over 
2,000 men were employed. In Wales as in Eng- 

214 



1 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

land many of the felling operations were carried 
out by men of foreign nationality, such as Nor- 
wegians, but it is interesting to note that for the 
first time women's labour was employed in forestry. 

Timber Felling in Breconshire. — ^The follow- 
ing letter from Miss Gertrude M. Painter, who was 
in charge of the contingent of girls employed in 
Breconshire, gives a vivid account of the nature 
of the work in that county : *'The country is of 
the wildest, hilly and mountainous, with deep 
valleys and narrow gorges, and while this renders 
it very beautiful and picturesque it makes it very 
difficult for the work in hand, the task of removing 
timber from the wooded slopes and precipices. 
Some of the valleys where we are felling timber 
are very remote and far removed from railway 
stations, with roads never intended for heavy 
traffic, and with inclines so steep that it is not 
possible to use horses to drag the trees out of the 
wood. But by means of traction engines placed 
on the roadside the felled timber is removed by 
the use of wire ropes. Sometimes it is possible 
to run a tramline through the wood ; sometimes a 
brook rushing madly through the bottom of the 

215 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

ravine is dammed and the trees are floated down- 
stream. 

"In the case of pitwood the trees are cross-cutted 
and in lengths of six, nine and thirteen feet, placed 
ready for loading on the roadside, whence a motor 
lorry takes them direct to the nearest station for 
consignment to the collieries. Should the valley 
hold a great quantity of big timber, saw mills are 
setup directly the felling has progressed sufficiently, 
and camps spring up like mushrooms in the most 
isolated parts of the county — camps of busy men 
and women, occupied in getting converted timber 
ready for France for use in the construction of 
huts and dug-outs and gateposts, and as sleepers 
for the railway companies. Some of the timber 
is sent to the dockyards and some to the arsenals, 
camp depots, and railway and post office depart- 
ments. The big larch and scotch trees are used 
for keeling boats; the willow trees are used 
largely for artificial limbs, while the wood of the 
ash is utilised in the construction of aeroplanes, 
in munition works, and in the manufacture of tool 
handles. The industry of bark stripping has been 
greatly revived, and while the bark continued to 

216 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

run well a large quantity was harvested in this 
county. 

"It is difficult to give an impression of the enor- 
mous rate at which timber is being felled, owing to 
the urgency of the orders which we have to execute. 
An incredible quantity has already been cut. 
Every wood is either felled or has been bought for 
that purpose in the county. The work is hard 
and the strain is great. The difficulties of trans- 
port, the remoteness of the woods, and the lack of 
skilled labour all add to the arduousness of our 
task. I must not forget the Welshwoman, for we 
have a gang of timber girls doing excellent work. 
Not all, I must confess, are Welsh, but a fair pro- 
portion belong to the Principality. 

"There is a sadness in the destruction of the 
beauties of the countryside which this work entails, 
but it is counter-balanced by the pleasure of find- 
ing what a dignity the bare hills acquire." 

Afforestation. — Wales possesses enormous 
forestry possibilities. The mere replanting of the 

217 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

woodland areas which have been depleted since 
1914 is not an adequate method of dealing with 
afforestation in Wales. The Principality contains 
no less than 1,300,000 acres of waste or semi-waste 
land. If from this figure there is deducted all land 
of over 1,500 feet high and the rest is reduced by 
50 per cent., half a million acres suitable for plant- 
ing are still left. This area would be capable in 
the course of time under systematic management 
of producing every year 30,000,000 cubic feet of 
timber. Of course it does not follow that all waste 
land is necessarily afforest able. The wind-swept 
western seaboard of Wales is unsuitable, and it 
would be unwise to afforest any land which yields 
an annual rent of more than 4s. per acre. Again, 
in forestry the topographical factor has to be taken 
into account. Rainfall, climate, physical configura- 
tion, road and rail transport, and water power have 
to be considered. Several kinds of trees are suit- 
able to the Welsh climate, among them the spruce, 
the Douglas fir, the Japanese larch and the Corsi- 
can pine. Afforestation in Wales has a great asset 
in the small holdings which are such a feature of 
Welsh agriculture. Forestry provides the small 
holder with a means of increasing his income by 

218 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

remunerative labour during the winter season when 
work on the farm is not at full pressure. And on 
the other hand the forester, during the summer, 
would gladly release many of his men for work 
in the fields. Forestry and agriculture have identi- 
cal interests. 



It is impossible to write about afforestation in 
Wales without referring to the notable experimen- 
tal area which exists in Denbighshire. Early in 
1906 Mr. John Mahler, of Penisa'r Glyn, presented 
to the Denbighshire County Council the freehold 
of fifty acres of land situated near Chirk, on con- 
dition that the area should be devoted to forestry 
investigation carried out by the Department of 
Forestry of the University College of North Wales, 
Bangor. The area is typical of much hill land 
suitable for afforestation in Wales and stands at 
an elevation varying from 950 to 1,250 feet above 
sea level. Altogether 117,000 trees have been plan- 
ted, these being contained in thirty-one plots, each 
Ij acres in extent. There is also a shelter belt to 
the west and south of the plots, designed as a 
protection against the prevailing winds. The area 

219 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

is visited periodically by forestry students from 
Bangor, under the guidance of Professor Fraser 
Story. Careful records are kept not only of height 
growths but of every detail in the treatment and 
development of the trees. Valuable information 
has been obtained and the experiment is being 
watched with great interest, not only by the Board 
of Agriculture, but by estate owners and public 
spirited men all over Wales. 



War Time Conditions. — In the years immedi- 
ately preceding the outbreak of War a steadily 
increasing interest was being taken in every Welsh 
county in afforestation, and this was due in no small 
measure to the ability and zeal of the Board of 
Agriculture Forestry Advisory Officer for Wales, 
Professor Fraser Story. By a systematic inspection 
of estates in all parts of the Principality he roused 
much enthusiasm among all classes of landowners 
and several projects of afforestation were being 
enthusiastically taken up when War broke out. 
Nevertheless a certain amount of afforestation was 
undertaken during the War. The scarcity of 
labour and the shortage of materials handicapped 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

any planting on a large scale, but at Lake Vymwy, 
the watershed owned by the Liverpool Corporation 
at Llanwddyn, a fairly large area was afforested 
by women's labour. Some planting was also done 
on Major David Davies' estates at Llandinam, 
Montgomeryshire, and at Leighton, in the same 
county. Small areas were tackled on Lord Lis- 
burne's estate at Crosswood, Cardiganshire, and on 
the Coed Coch estate, Abergele, also on Colonel 
Sandbach's estate at Hafodunas, Denbighshire, 
and at Nantclwyd, near Ruthin. With the assist- 
ance of women workers an area of 25 acres at Cor- 
sygedon, near Duffryn, in Merionethshire, was 
planted on experimental lines in connection with 
the work of the Forestry Department of the Univer- 
sity College of North Wales. Forest plants could 
have been obtained during the War and it is a fact 
that many thousands which became overgrown 
in the nurseries had to be burnt. The great 
obstacle to war-time development was the scarcity 
of labour and the shortage of the wire netting 
which is absolutely necessary for the protection 
of young plantations from damage by rabbit's. 
There is no lack of interest in forestry in Wales, 
and the depleted areas in all parts of the 

221 " 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

Principality afford ample scope for development. 
In the near future there is every prospect of con- 
siderable activity in this direction as soon as con- 
ditions become normal. In their struggle for 
independence the men of Wales found safety and 
refuge in the impenetrable forests of medieval 
Wales, and coming generations may find in the 
restoration of these forest lands a very fruitful 
source of income for the relief of that burden of 
debt which the War has placed upon their 
shoulders. 



Women's Work. — ^Everyone who has any know- 
ledge of life in Wales in pre-war days is acquainted 
with the fact that Welsh farmers have always 
relied on their womenfolk for much of the routine 
work connected with farming. The dairy work has 
as a rule been entirely in women's hands, as also 
the management of the poultry yard. There is 
one great distinction between farming in England 
and in Wales. In the Welsh counties there are 
very few ** gentlemen farmers." Wales is a land of 
small yeoman farmers and the farms are worked 
by the family of the tenant and the men and women 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

labourers whom he is able to employ. Before the 
War the supply of women labour for Welsh farms 
was unequal to the demand. For some years the 
countrywomen have been in the habit of migrating 
to the towns or the industrial districts where 
higher wages and better housing conditions prevail 
and where life is more strenuous and less monoton- 
ous. During the War the recruiting of women in 
Wales for the Land Army was carried on by 
the Women's War Agricultural Committees work- 
ing in conjunction with the officials of the Employ- 
ment Exchanges. The appeals were not confined 
merely to the needs of the Land Army but were 
made on behalf of war services generally, although 
the attractions of the Land Army were specially 
emphasised by means of processions and exhibi- 
tions. As the result of the campaigns which were 
held there was a large increase in the number of 
women in the villages who were prepared to un- 
dertake part time work, a feature which has always 
been prominent in Welsh rural life. The girls who 
joined the Land Army took part in almost every 
type of agricultural work. As a rule the farmers 
preferred to employ them for stock work but very 
many also assisted with horse work. When 

228 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

engaged on field work, such as harvesting or 
potato liftmg, the girls usually worked in gangs. 

At first the farmers of Wales were very averse 
to this wholesale substitution of women for men. 
It was difficult for them to believe that women who 
had undergone a few months' training could possi- 
bly take the place of their skilled labourers and 
ploughmen who had the inestimable knowledge 
accruing from years of experience. In some dis- 
tricts the farmers even held meetings to express 
their views on the absurdity of offering them 
women as labourers. In the course of time the 
eminent satisfaction which the more progressive 
farmers who had engaged girls expressed broke 
down the prejudices of the more conservative, and 
soon the demand for girls of the Land Army in- 
creased to such an extent that the authorities were 
unable to cope with it. In 1917 the farmers who 
had taken on women for harvest work, intending 
to release them immediately after the crops had 
been garnered, retained them in a large number of 
cases for winter stock work on their farms. Many 
of the girls who undertook this agricultural work 
for the period of the War out of patriotic reasons 

224 



AGRICULTURAL WALES 

expressed their intention of remaining per- 
manently on the land, if their services were re- 
quired, and in many cases Land Army girls married 
farmers. 

As a rule the field working girls were boarded 
out, but the majority of the stock workers who 
have obtained permanent employment lived in. 
In a few cases hostels were established for the girls. 
On the whole the eastern counties of Wales em- 
ployed a greater number of Land Army girls than 
the western. On the other hand, it is in the 
western counties that the farmers' wives and 
daughters take a more active share in farm work. 
Cardiganshire may be taken as a typical example 
of what the Women's Land Army performed in 
Wales. In this county about 150 girls of the Land 
Army were employed on various farms. The 
majority of them were recruited from Glamorgan- 
shire, Denbighshire and Durhamshire. Thirty of 
these received training in their home county. 
The wages varied from 7s. to 15s. per week with 
board and lodging, according to the girl's capa- 
bilities and experience. These girls did on the whole 
excellent work, and though working in lonely and 

225 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

out of the way districts stuck to their work in a 
way deserving of all praise. Many of them had no 
desire to return to town life, and made their homes 
in Cardiganshire. 



For the information in this chapter the Editors are indebted 
to the following ladies and gentlemen : Professor Fraser Story, 
Sir Alfred Da vies, Professor Bryner Jones, Alfred Seymour 
Jones, Esq., Miss Gertrude M. Painter, Walter O. Jones, Esq,, 
Mrs. Silyn Roberts, Mrs. B. L. Jones, Maunsel Franklin, Esq. 



226 



CONCLUSION 



Q2 



CHAPTER X 



Conclusion 



In the foregoing pages we have endeavoured to 
indicate briefly the lines along which Wales served 
the Empire and the Allied cause in the Great War, 
and the manifold nature of her assistance to the 
larger whole. At the same time it is felt that this 
is but a part of a larger subject, viz.. The Contribu- 
tion of Wales to British History and Strength, her 
fractional value within the British and Imperial 
unit. At a later date we may attempt an under- 
taking of this nature, provided the task shall not 
have been undertaken by more leisured and com- 
petent hands. Meanwhile, some of the suggestions 
thrown out in this chapter may be of value. 

229 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

It is a regrettable fact that there does not exist 
a complete and authoritative history of Wales.* 
The i>eriod which closed with the death of the last 
Llywelyn has been amply explored and has affor- 
ded material for excellent monographs. Remark- 
ably little has been written of the life of Wales 
from the 14th to the 19th Century. This lacima 
of historical reference to her movements, and 
interest in her ways, from whatsoever cause, may 
account for much of the ignorance which prevails 
concerning her beyond the Welsh borders. It may 
be an interesting question to consider how much 
of this scantiness of reference is due to her tena- 
cious hold upon her language, and how much is 
due to the pacifying influence of the Tudor period, 
and her contentment with the Welsh blood that 
circulated in the veins of subsequent British mon- 
archs. No thinker or patriot can deny that her 
debt to England is beyond computation, but is it 
not equally true that Wales has been a valuable 
asset in the developing life of Great Britain, ex- 
emplified at the present time in the conspicuous 



* There are some excellent surveys. 
290 



CONCLUSION 

personality and influence of the present Prime 
Minister of the Realm ? 

From the early days of the civilisation of this 
island the Cymric element has been associated with 
its progressive endeavours. Far back in the Saxon 
period we find it recorded that Alfred the Great^ 
in his desire to reconstitute the educational system 
of his day, engaged the services of John Asser, or 
Asserius Menevensis, bom in Pembrokeshire, and 
educated in the Monastery of St. David's. King 
Alfred made him his * 'preceptor and companion," 
and it was he who wrote "The Life of Alfred" for 
the benefit of his Welsh countrymen. More than 
one responsible historian holds the view that Alfred 
himself was an Anglo-Celt. As bearing upon the 
earlier writings, mention may be made of the debt 
of English literature to the Mabinogion, from 
which sprang the story of King Arthur and his 
knights, and of the great medieval "journalist," 
Giraldus Cambrensis, the Norman Welshman, who 
was the tutor to the sons of Henry II. 

The military service rendered by Wales has been 
more or less continuous. At the close of the Saxon 

231 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

supremacy we find the Welsh border princes ren- 
dering assistance to the rebel Saxon earls against 
the Norman sway. In the period of Norman ascen- 
dancy Wales became the recruiting ground par 
excellence for the wars of the Kings of England. 
The Angevin and Plantagenet Kings of England 
raised foot soldiers in the Principality, and freely 
used them in their wars at home and abroad ; and 
from the 12th century onwards Welsh contingents 
are to be found in the armies of England, whether 
it be in the Scottish wars, the Irish expeditions, or 
the French campaigns. Welsh tradition has it 
that *' three Welsh soldiers " saved the life of 
Henry V. at Agincourt, one of them at the sacrifice 
of his own life. Was there ever a braver ar 
more efficient captain in the whole of '' The Hun- 
dred Years' War " than Matthew Goch, anglice 
Gough, the veteran soldier of Henry VI. ? In 
Tudor times Wales supplied soldiers for the sup- 
pression of the Irish rebellion. They came also 
to the aid of the Stuarts, who found them loyal 
and true. One of the oldest regiments in the 
British Army is the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (1689). 
All of which goes to prove that, through and in 
spite of all dynastic changes, Welshmen rallied to the 

232 



CONCLUSION 

defence of the frontiers and fortunes of this 
historic isle, of which Wales forms a part. 



The part played by Welsh sailors in Elizabethan 
times is also worthy of notice, who, in conjunction 
with their racial cousins, the men of Devon and 
Cornwall, repelled the foreign foe, and fought, in 
earlier times, for the freedom of the seas. 

In constitutional events and improvements of 
national importance Wales has had a share. Arti- 
cles 56-58 in Magna Charta show how large a part 
Llywelyn, the great lord of Snowdon, played in 
the transactions which led to the signing of that 
document which is regarded as the comer-stone 
of the British Constitution. Further, Professor 
Tout, of Manchester, has established beyond doubt 
the position that Simon de Montfort received in- 
valuable aid from Llywelyn, the last native Prince 
of Wales, in the establishment of the "De Mont- 
fort" Parliament, which otherwise might never 
have materialised. At a later stage the Tudor 
dynasty, rich with Welsh blood, gave ordered 
Government to England after the turbulent period 

233 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

of the "Wars of the Roses" ; and it may be pertin- 
ently added that without the aid of Rhys ap 
Nicholas, and the men of Wales, Henry would 
never have won the Battle of Bosworth Field. 

Moreover, in the realm of statesmanship and 
political administration Wales has unquestionably 
made its contribution. During the Tudor period 
Welshmen in considerable numbers came forward 
and served, if not in the highest, in very important 
offices of State. The Welsh name Seisyll, angli- 
cized Cecil, reminds us that the famous family of 
the Cecils are of Welsh origin, and large numbers 
of the men employed in the English secret service 
during the 16th and 17th centuries hailed from 
Wales. And what of the indebtedness of Britain 
to the Great Protector, Oliver Cromwell ? Wales 
can claim her share in the stock and strength of 
that virile personality, for he was of Welsh descent, 
one of his ancestors, named Williams, having 
adopted the surname of his patron, Thomas Crom- 
well, whose agent he was in the suppression of the 
monasteries. Time and space would fail to tell 
of other eminent men of Wales, who crossed the 
seas, and served in other lands, but the name of 

234 



CONCLUSION 

Roger Williams — ^the great prophet of religious 
toleration under British rule, and the founder of 
Rhode Island Colony — ^must ever be remembered as 
a forenmner of that spirit of justice and freedom 
which has helped to form the moral sinew of the 
United States Republic. 

These facts, somewhat hastily and casually ex- 
tracted from the multiform course of history, tempt 
us to a fair and rich field of interest and research, 
and go to show that the part played by Wales in 
this, the greatest of all wars, is but in keeping 
with her past, consistent with her ancient valour, 
her faith in ideals, and her long range of service in 
the dethronement of tyranny and wrong. She has 
served, and still serves, her "big sister" well. And it 
will be further seen, when the Record Offices of 
Great Britain, and France, and other countries, 
have been more diligently and carefully sifted, and 
the chapter of her devotion to religious life and 
liberty as well as the story of her keen appreciation 
of education and the higher themes of life have 
been fully written, that she has been a more 
valuable factor in the life of this Empire than we 
have hitherto dreamed of. 

285 



WALES: ITS PART IN THE WAR 

And remembering her past, and scanning her 
future in so far as presaging the coming years is 
possible to mortals, well may every Welshman take 
courage and cherish the hope and sentiment once 
expressed in the following words by John Bright, 
the great tribune of the British people — 

** I think I see, as it were among the hill-tops of 
time, the glimmerings of the dawn of a better and 
nobler day for my country, and the people that I 
love so well." 



2m 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Abbeville, 11 

Aberdare, 133 

Abergavenny, 138, 188 

Aberystwyth, 138, 174, 186 ff. 

Achi Baba, 60 

Acrefair, 112 

Acton Park, Wrexham, 156, 162 

Afforestation, 133 ff., 217 ff. 

Aisne, Battle of, 37 ff. 

Aleppo, 65 

Allenby, General, 65 

Anglesea, 32, 34, 63, 186, 190, 209 

280 



INDEX 

Armentieres, 44 

Arras, 52 

Aston, Messrs. W., and Son (Johnstown), 160 

Aubers Ridge, 40 

Auckland, Mr. S., 161 



B 

Baghdad, 64 

Bailey, Messrs. C. H., Tyne Engineering and 

Ship Repairing Works, Newport, Mon. 

and Barry, 103 
Baldwins, Limited, 82 ff. 
Bangor, 138, 188 fiF. 
Bargoed, 75 

Barry, 72, 98, 102, 188, 190 
Barry Graving Dock and Engineering Co., Ltd., 

103 
Basic Process, The, 86 
Beach "S," 60 
Beach '*Y/* 60 
Beersheba, 65 
Belfort, 13 

Bellewaarde Lake, 51 
Benzol, 75 

240 



INDEX 

Berrington Auxiliary Military Hospital, 155 

Bethisy, St. Pierre, 14 

Bethune, 8, 40, 45 

Blainau Ffestiniog, 195 

Blaenavon Iron and Steel Co., 79 ff. 

* 'Bluff, The,'* 47 

Boulogne, 6, 11 

Brecon, 188 

Breconshire, 34, 215 

Bridgend, 190 

British Mannesman Tube Works, 87 ff. 

Briton Ferry Engineering Works, 94 

Briton Ferry Steel Works, 82 ff. 

Broodseinde, 48, 49 

Broughton Plas Power Colliery, 159 

Bryngwyn Steel Works, 82 ff. 

Buckley, Esq., W., 110 

Burnt Hill, 63 

Bute Shipbuilding Co., 102 

Butt & Co., 160 

Bwlch, 189 

Bwlch Gwyn and Gwersyllt Quarries, 117 

Bynea Steel Works, 82 ff. 

By-products of Coal, 74 ff. 



241 



INDEX 

C 

Caecoch Pyrites Mine, 116 

Calais, 11 

Cape Copper Co., 95 ff. 

Caporetto, 16 

Cardiff, 18, 34, 56, 72, 78, 98, 102, 177, 185, 188, 

190 
Cardiff Channel Dry Dock and Pontoon Co., 102 
Cardiff National Shell Factory, 189 
Cardigan, 174 
Cardigan Bay, 134 
Cardiganshire, 116, 170, 172 
Carmarthen, 190 
Carmarthenshire, 34, 165 ff., 186 
Carnarvon, 188 

Carnarvonshire, 32, 34, 63, 116, 190 
Carnarvon Vulcan Foundry, 110 
Carter, Messrs. D. H., Colwyn Bay, 160 
Cavan, Lord, 56 
Chalons, 12, 13 
Chappell, Mr. Edgar L., 139 
China, 59 ff. 
Chirk, 219 
Chivy Valley, 38 
Clement, Mr., 91 

242 



INDEX 

Clwyd, Vale of, 158 

Clwj-d, Vale of, Toy Workshops, 160 

Clyde District, 19 

Coed Coch (Abergele), 221 

Coedely, 75 

Colwyn Bay, 188 

Compiegne, 12, 13, 14 

Conde-Mons Canal, 38 

Connah*s Quay, 27 

Cordes (Dos Works), I.td., Rolling Mills, 79 

Cornwell, Fund for Jack, 178 ff., 200 

Corsygedon (Dyffryn, Merioneth), 221 

County Inspector, Wrexham, 160 

Covi^bridge, 177 

Criccieth, 188 

Croesnewydd Orthopaedic Hospital, Wrexham 

154 ff. 
Crosswood (Cardiganshire), 221 
Cudworth and Johnson, Messrs., 112 
Cuinchy, 55 
Cwmbran, 79 

Cwmfelin Steel Works, 82 ff. 
Cwmyoy (Abergavenny), 189 
Cwmystwyth, 115 
Cyfarthfa, 80 

243 

r2 



INDEX 



D 



Damakjelik Bair, 63 

Damascus, 65 

Davies, Major David, 221 

Davies, Esq., Evan R., lia 

Davies, Mr. J. C, 78 ff. 

Davies & Co., Messrs. Jenkin, 112 

Davies, Sir Joseph, 193 

Dee Valley, 27 

Delville Wood, 14 

Denbigh, 158, 188 

Denbighshire, 30-32, 34, 112 ff., 153 ff., 170, 177 ff., 

209 ff., 219, 225 
Denbighshire War Pensions Committee, 153 
Derby, Attestation Scheme of I^ord, 29 
De Tott's Battery, 60 
Diamond & Co., Thos. (Cardiff), 103 
Dieppe, 10 
Dillwyn & Co., 95 ff. 

Dinner to celebrate forming of Welsh Guards, 36 
Dodman, Mr. W., Wrexham, 160 
Dogger Bank, Battle of, 71 
Doiran-Vardar Front, 66 

244 



INDEX 

Dowlais, 79 
Dragoons, French, 6 
Drych," ''Y (Utica, U.S.A.), 192 
Dyffryn Aled, 189 



Eastern Group of South Welsh Works, 79 ff. 

Ebbinghem, 10 

Ebbw Vale, 18, 75, 78 

Ebbw Vale Iron and Steel Works, 79, 190 

Edwards, Messrs. J. C, & Co., 112 

Edwards, Mr. W. H., 82 

Egypt, 14, 63 ff. 

Ely, Green Farm, 161 

Elliot & Jeffery, Messrs., 103 

English Crown Spelter Co., 95 ff. 

Evans, Mr. Owain, 118, 193, 197 

Evans, Sir Vincent, 83 



Festubert, 51 ff., 53 

Flers Line, 14 

Fletcher & Sons, Messrs., Colwyn Bay, 160 

245 



INDEX 

Fletclier, Messrs., Wrexham^ 160 

Flint, 27 

Flint, County of, 27-30, 34, 63, 118 ff., 170 

Foch, General, 13 

Foster & Co., Wm., 95 ff. 

Fox, Mr. A. W., 210 

Francis & Sons, Messrs., Colwyn Bay, 159 

French, Sir John, 5 

Frengoch (Bala), 189 

Fromelles, 40 

Fuller, Lance-Cpl. Wm. 39 



Gallipoli, 60 ff. 

Gaza, 65 

Geddes, Sir Auckland, 25 

George, Francis & Kerr, Ltd., Llanidloes, 121 

George & Co., R., Llanidloes, 121 

George, Mr. Lloyd, 16, 33, 78, 193 

George, Mrs. Lloyd, 158, 163, 193 

George, Lloyd, American Relief Fund, U.S.A., 192 

Gheluvelt, 42-44 



INDEX 

Gib'bins, Mr. F. W., 91 

Gilbertson & Co., Messrs., 82 ff. 

Gilbertson, Mr. F. W., 78 

Gillespie, Colonel F. M., 63 

Giornale d' Italia, 16 

Giveuchy, 45, 46 

Gladstone, Mr. H. N., I^rd Lieutenant of Wales, 

28, 30 
Glamorganshire, 33, 34, 170, 176, 209, 225 
Glanmore Foundry, 96 
Glasgow, 19 
Goch, Matthew, 232 
Godley, General, 62 
Gowerton, 84 ff. 
Graesser Ltd., Messrs., 113 
Greaves, Esq., R. M., 110 
Greenock, 19 

Green, Mr. Ralph (Cardiff), 197 
Grovesend Steel Works, 82 
Guest, Keen & Nettlefold, Ltd., 79 
Gully Ravine, 61 
Gwydyr Ucht, Penrhyn, 161 



247 



INDEX 



H 



Haggard, Captain, 39 

Haig, Sir Douglas, 87, 39 

Halkyn Mines, 115 

Hammer, T. Pryce, I^lanidloes, 122 

Harris Bros, & Co., Ltd. (Swansea), 103 

Hafodunas, Denbighshire, 221 

Havre, 11 

Hazebrouck, 9 

Helles, Cape, 60, 61 

Hill & Co., Ltd., J. C, RolUng Mills, 79 

Hills Dry Dock & Engineering Co., Ltd., 108 

Hill 60, 47 

Hohenzollem Redoubt, 53 ff. 

Holywell, 27 

Hulluch, 54 



I 



Industries of S. Wales, 76 ff. 
Inshore Fisheries, 134 

248 



INDEX 



James, Mr. Jenkin, 171 

Jones, Evans & Co., Newtown, 121 

Jones, Mr. E., Wrexham, 160 

Jones, J.P., Mr. Alfred S., 30, 31, 154 

Jones, Prof. O. T., 147 

Jones, Sir Robert, 155 



K 

Khartoum, 14 

Kiao Chau, 59 

Kinmel Park, 118, 189, 192 

Kitchener, Lord, 3, 4 

Kleytboek, 41 

Krithia, 60 

Kut el Amara, 64 



Iva Bassee, 9 

La Ferte sous Tovarre, 38 

Lampeter, 175 ff. 

249 



INDEX 

Langemarck, 15, 42 

La Quinque Rue, 52 

La Panne, 10 

La Touquet, 9 

Laventie, 8 

Le Cateau, 38 

Leighton, Montgom., 221 

Le Maisnil, 40 

Lerry, Mr. G. G., 154 ff. 

Levant, 65 

Lewis & Son, Newtown, 122 

Lille, 40 

Lisburne, 115 

Little Acton, 156 

"Little Willie Trench," 56 

Llandinam, 221 

Llandrindod Wells, 188 

Llandudno, 188 

Llanelly, 78, 136, 188 

Llanelly Steel Works, 82 

Llangefni, 138 

Llanidloes, 139 

Llanwddyn, 221 

Llanrwst, 122 

Loos, 53-58 

250 



INDEX 

Lower Forest Foundry, 96 

lyys, 40 

Lysaght*s, Newport (Sheet Iron Works), 79, 81 



M 

Madryn Castle Farm School, 157, 161 

Maesteg, 177 

Macedonia, 59 ff. 

Macready, General, 7 

Mahler, Mr. John, 219 

Mametz Wood, 67 

Marne, Battle of, 13, 37 flf. 

Marrison, Mr. P. R., 162 

Menin, 41 

Mercantile Pontoon Co., Cardiff, 103 

Merioneth, 34, 63, 116 ff. 

Merthyr, 177 

Mesopotamia, 63 ff. 

Messines, 8 

Milford Haven, 102 

Milbrooke Engineering Co., 96 

M. Millerand, 13 

Mold, 27, 28 

251 



INDEX 

Mona & Parys Mine, 116 

Mond Nickel Co., 95 flf. 

Monmouthshire, 34, 170, 200 

Mon. Regiment, 34, 56 

Mon. Steel Co., 82 ff. 

Mons, 37 ff. 

Montgomery, 34, 115 ff. 

Montreux Vieux, 13 

Mordey, Carney & Co., 103 

Morris & Son, Llanidloes, 121 

Morval, 14 

Mountain Ash, 133 

Mount Stuart Dry Dock, etc., 103 

Murray Thriepland, D.S.O., Lieut.-Col., 36, 56 



N 

Nancy, 13 

National Shell Factories, 93 ff. 

Neath, 138, 188 

Neath National Eisteddfod, 138 

Neuve Chapelle, 51 ff. 

Neuve Eglise, 8 

Nevill & Co., Richard, 96 

252 



INDEX 

Newport, 72, 78, 98, 136, 188, 190 

Newport, Uskside Works, 190 

Nobel's Explosive Factory, Pembrey, 75, 190 

Nortli & South Wales Disablement Committee, 

153 
North Wales Toy Factory, 160 



Ocean Dry Dock & Engineering Co., Swansea, 103 

Octroi, 13 

Oppenheimer, Mr. Bernard, 156 

Ovens, Coke, 74 ff. 



Painter, Miss Gertrude M., 215 
Panteg Steel Works, 82 
Pembrey, 133, 166^ 188 
Pembroke, 138 

Pembroke Dock, 188 ff., 190, 192 
Pembrokeshire, 34 

268 



INDEX 

Penarth, 98, 102, 177 

Penarth Pontoon & Shipway Co., Ltd., 103 

Pentre Broughton Boys* School, 178 

Penygroes, 196 

Percentage of Man-power, 26 

Petersen, Mr. J. H., 113 

Phoenix Works, Rhuddlan, 160 

Pilken Ridge, 15 

Pilken, 67 

Plas Acton, 156 ff. 

Player & Sons, John, 96 

Plumer, General, 7 

Poelcapelle, 42 

Polish Victims* Relief, 199 

Pontarddulais, 177 

Pontypridd, 186 

Porthcawl, 186 ff 

Portmadoc, Boston Lodge Works, 110 

Port Talbot, 79, 98, 102, 188, 189 

Port Talbot, Dry Dock, etc., 103 

Port Talbot Steel Works, 190 

Powell Bros., Wrexham, 112 fif. 

Powysland Ordnance Works, 113 

Prince of Wales Dry Dock, etc., 103 

Pryce, Jones, Ltd., 121 

254 



INDEX 

Pickvance, Esq., W. G., 110 
Pwllheli, 188 



R 

Rawlinson, General, 7 

Rees, Mr. D. E., 178 

Reconstruction, 127-149 

Rhondda, I^ord, 141 

Rhondda Valley, 34, 137 

Rhose Mor, 115 

Rhyl, 27, 189 

Rhyl Electricity Works, 160 

Rhyl Urban District Council, 161 

Rio Tinto Co., 95 ff. 

Richards, Messrs. (Trevor), 112 

Risca, 75 

Risca Steel Foundry, 96 

Road Transport, 134 ff. 

Roberts, Lord, 6 

Roberts, R. Silyn, 193 

Robertson, General, 7 

Rogers & Co., John, 103 

Rogers, Mr. T. E., 93 ff. 

Rog-erstone, 79 

255 



INDEX 

Romani, 64 

Rome, 15 

Rouen, 11 

Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 27, 28, 31, 34, etc. 

Rue de Bois, 51 



Sannaiyat, 64 
Sari Bair, 62 
Sauvage, Esq., T., 110 
Scimitar Hill, 61 
Sedd el Bahr, 60 
Senussi, 65 

Serbian Relief Fund, 199 
Shearman & Co., John, 103 
Siemens Steel Works, 79 
Silurian Coalfields, 71 ff. 
Singh, Sir Pertab, 12 
Smith-Dorrien, General, 7 
Somme, Battle of, 14, 15, 67 
South Wales Borderers, 34, etc.— 66 
Soldiers* Plum Pudding Fund, 178 
South Wales Garden City & Town-Planning Asso- 
ciation, 129 



256 



INDEX 

South Wales Miners' Federation, 129 

St. Asaph, 158 

St. Dunstan's Hospital Fund, 178 

Steel & Galvanised Sheet Industry, 77 

St. Omer, 5, 6, 12 

St. Quentin, 11 

Story, Prof. Fraser, 220 

Stuart, Lord Ninian, 56 

Suez Canal, 14, 64 

Surveys, 134 ff. 

Suvla Bay, 61 

Swansea, 84, 72, 78, 102, 138, 177, 186, 188 

Swansea Vale Spelter Co., 95 ff. 



Talysarn, 196 

Taylor, Esq., E. S., 110 

Tenby, 188 

Textile and Leather Industry, 121 ff. 

Thomas and Clement, 96 

Thomas & Co., Richard, 82 ff. 

Thomas, Brigadier-General Owen, 32 

Thomas, Mr. David, 171 

257 



INDEX 

Tigris, 64 

Times, The, 20, 21 

Tinplate Industry, 90 

Toluol Industry, 75 

Trealaw, 137 

Tredegar Dry Dock & Engineering Co. (Newport) 

103 
Trefnant, 158 
Troyon, 39 
Turks, 60 ff. 



U 

Upper Forest Steel Works, 82 &. 



Van Mine, 115 
Veldhoek, 44 
Vieux Berquin, 8 
Villers au Vent, 13 
Vimy Ridge, 52 



258 



INDEX 

Vitry la Francoise, 13 

Vivians (Swansea & Port Talbot), 95 ff. 

Vyrnwy, Lake, 221 

w 

Warley Barracks (Essex), 3 

Water Resources, 134 ff. 

Welsh American (Pittsburg), 192. 

Welsh Guards, 35, etc., 67 

Welsh Horse, 65 

Welsh Housing, etc., 128 £f., 156 ff. 

Welshpool, 138 

Welsh Regiment, 34-67 

Welsh Tinplate and Metal Stamping Co., 96 

Welsh Town-planning and Housing Trust, 129 

Whitehead & Co., Rolling Mills^ 79 

Williams, Roger, 235 

Wilson, General, 7 

Women's Work, 222 ff. 

Wrexham, 188 

Wrexham Electric Works, 110, 112 ff. 

Wright, Col. J. R., 78 

Wynn, Sir Watkin Williams, 112 

Wytschaete, 8 

259 



INDEX 



Yeomanry, Denbighshire, 34, 65 

Glamorganshire, 34, 65 

Montgomeryshire, 34, 65 

Pembrokeshire, 34, 65 

Y.M.C.A., 187 ff. 

Ypres, 39-51 

Ystrad Isaf Hospital, 199 



Zandvoorde, 41 
Zillebeke, 44 
Zonnebeke-Broodseinde Line, 41 



260 



H 45-79 






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